Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-89-01152/USCOURTS-ca10-89-01152-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 

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FI LED 

Uaired Stites Cou,, of Appals 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

MURPHY MILES, JR. } 

} 

Plaintiff-Appellant, } 

} 

V • } 

} 

BENNY JOHNSON and DUANE L. WOODARD,) 

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Defendants-Appellees. } 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

APR 2 5 1990 

.ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

No. 89-1152 

(D. Colorado} 

(D.C. Civ. No. 89-F-520) 

Before LOGAN, SEYMOUR, and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 

34(a}; 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. 

Petitioner Miles H. Murphy, Jr. has appealed the denial of 

his petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 u.s.c. 

§ 2254. He sought to set aside three 1977 convictions in Colorado 

state court, which apparently formed the basis for his sentence of 

life imprisonment as an habitual criminal, imposed after a 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall not 

be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, except 

for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of the case, 

res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

Appellate Case: 89-1152 Document: 01019972499 Date Filed: 04/25/1990 Page: 1 
subsequent state felony conviction. At the time he filed his 

petition in federal court he had pending in state court challenges 

to his 1977 convictions and to his subsequent felony conviction 

and sentence as well. The district court dismissed the action 

without prejudice for failure to exhaust state remedies, citing 

Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509 (1982). 

On appeal, petitioner declared that the federal court should 

grant relief because the state court had his challenge under 

advisement for approximately two years without deciding the case. 

He also urged that his guilty pleas were affected by his allegedly 

constitutionally inadequate counsel. We note that, subsequent to 

the district court's dismissal order, the state district court, on 

December 5, 1989, rejected Miles' contentions and found that his 

counsel was competent. On January 19, 1990, Miles filed a notice 

of appeal in the state court of appeals. Thus, any basis for the 

federal court's taking jurisdiction because of inaction by the 

state district court has been removed, and we have no reason to 

believe that there will be an inordinate delay in handling the 

appeal in state court. While the issue of incompetency of counsel 

affecting the validity of Miles' 1977 guilty pleas is pending he 

cannot have exhausted his state remedies in the state court 

system. 

The district court properly denied a certificate of probable 

cause and was correct in dismissing the case. 

For the reason that Miles can make no colorable argument for 

relief in the federal courts, we also deny a certificate of 

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Appellate Case: 89-1152 Document: 01019972499 Date Filed: 04/25/1990 Page: 2 
; 

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probable cause and affirm the district court's dismissal. 

The mandate shall issue forthwith. 

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Entered for the Court 

James K. Logan 

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 89-1152 Document: 01019972499 Date Filed: 04/25/1990 Page: 3