1Greene is also known as Jermaine Trice. Indeed, this was the name used at the

time of trial which led to his current incarceration.

2We note that Petitioner is not currently a resident of this district in that his place of

incarceration is in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania in the Middle District. See 28 U.S.C. §

118(b). Nonetheless, venue is proper here in that his current confinement is the result of

his prosecution and conviction in Philadelphia County. See 28 U.S.C. § 2441(d).

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

ERIC GREENE : CIVIL ACTION

:

v. :

:

JOHN PALAKOVICH, et al. : NO. 04-5200

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

DAVID R. STRAWBRIDGE

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE January 26, 2006

Before the Court is Petitioner Eric Greene’s1 (alternatively “Greene” or “Petitioner”)

pro se petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §

2254. Greene, who is presently a resident of the State Correctional Institution-Smithfield

in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania2 challenges his 1996 conviction and life sentence for second

degree murder, three counts of robbery and conspiracy. In his rambling petition, he seeks

application of the writ for reasons associated with the trial court’s refusal to sever his trial

from that of his co-defendants, certain evidentiary rulings, his apparent inability to get

access to the transcript of the trial proceedings and alleged ineffective assistance of

counsel. For the reasons set out below and pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), this Court

RECOMMENDS that the petition be DISMISSED, but that a certificate of appealability be

GRANTED with respect to Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment confrontation claim arising out of

the introduction of evidence of two of his co-defendants’ redacted confessions.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 1 of 49
3

In preparing this Report and Recommendation, we have reviewed Petitioner’s Form

Application for Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, Petitioner’s “Brief for Petitioner”,

the District Attorney’s Response to the Petition; Petitioner’s Response to the District

Attorney’s Response and the trial transcript provided to us by the District Attorney.

2

I. BACKGROUND3

A. Procedural History

On March 16, 1996, Greene was convicted in the Philadelphia Court of Common

Pleas of second degree murder, three counts of robbery and conspiracy. He filed timely

post-trial motions raising various claims concerning: (1) trial court error by failing to sever

his trial from that of his co-defendants; (2) trial court error by admitting evidence concerning

another robbery; (3) trial court error by failing to grant a mistrial after a police officer

vouched for the credibility of a prosecution witness; and (4) prosecutorial misconduct

during closing argument. The trial court ultimately denied these motions in an opinion filed

on March 10, 1997. Greene was then sentenced to lifetime incarceration.

A timely appeal was filed with the Pennsylvania Superior Court. It was denied in an

opinion filed on December 16, 1997. A petition for allocator with the Pennsylvania

Supreme Court was initially granted on August 14, 1998. On April 29, 1999, however, that

same court entered an Order declining to accept the appeal, stating that allocator had been

improvidently granted. Petitioner did not file a petition for certiorari with the United States

Supreme Court. Thus, his state court conviction became final on July 29, 1999. See Sup.

Ct. R. 13(1).

On August 3, 1999, Greene filed a pro se petition seeking state collateral review

under Pennsylvania’s Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa. C.S.A. §§ 9541-46. In

the pro se petition, he raised issues pertaining to ineffective assistance of counsel;

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 2 of 49
3

prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument; and trial court error in admitting

evidence concerning another robbery. Counsel was appointed and, on July 7, 2000, filed

a no merit letter. On August 22, 2000, the trial court, acting as the PCRA court, dismissed

the petition. An appeal followed. On December 31, 2003, the appeal was denied and the

Superior Court affirmed the PCRA court’s decision. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court

denied allocator on July 27, 2004.

B. Factual Background

Greene’s conviction grew out of a December 11, 1993 robbery of a Philadelphia

food market. The trial court’s opinion denying Greene’s post-trial motions sets out the

circumstances of that robbery and another offense relevant to our consideration of the

issues raised in this petition. Note that Greene was tried under the name of Jermaine Trice

and is referred to by the trial court judge as Trice.

On Saturday, December 11, 1993, Jermaine Trice,

defendant herein (a/k/a/ Eric Greene) along with Gregory

Womack, Atil Finney, Naree Abdullah and Julius Jenkins

agreed in street parlance, to “get paid,” i.e., to rob Lilly’s

Market, 3122 West York Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Demond Jackson, who was present but did not enter into the

Conspiracy, asked for a ride to “West Philly.” He later testified

against the defendants.

Gregory Womack drove his car, a 1979 Oldsmobile

Cutlass Cruiser, a 4-door silver color station wagon with the

four other conspirators. Demond Jackson, the non-conspirator

who had asked for a ride, was also in the car.

Jackson, Womack and Abdullah waited in the car as

this Defendant, Jermaine Trice (a/k/a Eric Greene), Atil Finney

and defendant Jenkins entered the store.

Julius Jenkins went to the counter along with Jermaine

Trice. At the cash register were Anna Azcona and her sister,

Andrea Rodriguez. Francisco Azcona was not immediately

visible.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 3 of 49
4

Jenkins announced a hold-up and demanded the cash.

Francisco Azcona was kneeling on the floor stocking shelves.

As he tried to stand up, Jenkins shot and killed him.

After the shooting, Trice grabbed the cash register and

all three returned to the car.

Womack drove all six to Naree Abdullah’s home where

the money was divided among the conspirators. The

passenger, Jackson, was offered a share of the money but

refused. He did not want to be included in the robbery.

Francisco Azcona was killed with a .45 revolver, which

shot a .44 caliber bullet.

Three days after the homicide, in the same 1979

Oldsmobile, four of the defendants, excluding Finney; i.e.,

Trice (a/k/a/ Greene), Abdullah, Jenkins and Womack were in

the vicinity of Ace Check Cashing, located at 29th and York

Streets in Philadelphia, two blocks from Lilly’s Market. (All four

have been convicted of a separate Robbery at that location but

that fact was not allowed as evidence in this case.) The Court

ruled that proof of other crimes was not evidence in this case

but access to a weapon was admissible. Since evidence of

that crime was not admissible at this trial, the allowable

evidence disclosed that they were all in the area of the Ace

Check Cashing Agency and all left abruptly.

As they exited the agency, and entered the awaiting car,

Police Officer McKeever observed what was happening and

followed them attempting to stop the car. Other police, who

arrived subsequently, recovered a .45 caliber revolver near the

location where Jenkins and Abdullah were arrested. The gun

had been abandoned in the vicinity of their arrest.

A comparison of the fatal bullet, a .44 recovered from

the body of Francisco Azcona and submitted to Ballistics by

the Medical Examiner, with the gun recovered after the Ace

Check Cashing incident, revealed that the .45 revolver was the

same gun used to kill Francisco Azcona three days earlier.

Both the homicide at Lilly’s Market and the subsequent

incident near the Ace Check Cashing have certain similar

distinctive characteristics. Four of the five defendants in this

case knew each other and were together; the same car was

used; the location of each incident was within two blocks of

each other; the .45 calibre gun at the Ace Check Cashing

Agency incident was the same gun in the possession of the

killer in this case. This court ruled that the incident at the

Check Cashing Agency was not a signature crime where proof

of one would prove the other. However, evidence of the

parties’ relationship to each other, the gun and similarity of the

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 4 of 49
5

car was admissible. All of these factors were considered by

the jury in this case. Jenkins, who was armed with the fatal

gun, was tried by a “death penalty” qualified jury. The others

were tried subject to possible Second Degree Murder, Robbery

and Conspiracy charges.

Commonwealth v. Trice, C.P. No. 95-06-0118, slip op. at 1-3 (Phila. Co. Mar. 10, 1997)

C. Nature of Claims

Our initial challenge is to sort out and categorize Petitioner’s various claims for relief.

We start with his “Form Application for Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254" (“Form

Application”) where he articulates five claims as follows:

1. Denial of the right to an effective appeal because of the trial court’s

failure to provide a complete trial transcript and because of all prior

counsel’s ineffectiveness in failing to obtain the missing trial 

transcripts;

2. Several violations of his rights caused by the trial court’s failure to 

sever his trial from that of his co-defendants;

3. Trial court error in admitting evidence of a separate, unrelated 

robbery;

4. All prior counsel’s ineffective assistance; and

5. Denial of his right to appeal the PCRA court’s decision.

On closer examination, however, and when read in conjunction with his “Brief for

Petitioner”, we believe it would be proper to say that Greene has asserted as many as 12

relatively distinct claims.

The first claim in his Form Application is really two (2) distinct claims: (1) that he

was denied the right to an effective appeal because he was not provided with a trial

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 5 of 49
6

transcript; and (2) that he was denied the right to effective assistance of counsel because

of his counsel’s failure to obtain the transcript.

In the second claim in the Form Application dealing with the severance issue he

really makes six (6) distinct claims: (3) that the trial court’s failure to sever subjected him

to a death qualified jury; (4) that the trial court’s failure to sever unfairly infringed upon his

Sixth Amendment right to confrontation by subjecting him to evidence coming from certain

co-defendants’ improperly redacted confessions; (5) that the trial court’s failure to sever

subjected him to prejudicial testimony (concerning a separate robbery) given in response

to questioning from the prosecutor; (6) that the trial court’s failure to sever subjected him

to prejudicial testimony (concerning a separate robbery) given in response to questions

from a co-defendant’s counsel; (7) that the trial court’s failure to sever prejudiced him by

having a police witness vouch for the testimony of a Commonwealth witness when crossexamined by a co-defendant’s counsel; and (8) that the trial court’s failure to sever

prejudiced him by giving the prosecutor the opportunity to refer to the confessions of his

co-defendants and to gesture to all defendants indicating that they were all (including

Greene) implicated by the confessions.

The third claim presented in Petitioner’s Form Application, (9) that the trial court

erred in admitting evidence concerning a separate unrelated robbery, stands alone. The

fourth claim presented is (10) that counsel who assisted Greene at both trial and on appeal

was ineffective by failing to properly investigate and try the case, and (11) that separate

PCRA counsel was ineffective in his representation of Petitioner in the PCRA process.

Finally, in his fifth claim Greene asserts (12) that he was denied the right to appeal the

PCRA court’s denial of relief due to governmental interference.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 6 of 49
7

We will treat these claims as essentially falling into three broad categories. They

are:

(1) claims that trial court actions violated petitioner’s due

process rights (claims 1, 9 and 12);

(2) claims related to the failure to sever (claims 3 through

8); and

(3) claims of ineffective assistance of counsel (claims 2, 10

and 11).

II. DISCUSSION

A. Cognizability of Claims

Habeas relief is only available for violations of the Constitution, laws or treaties of

the United States. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). For this reason, claims which are based upon

state law are not cognizable. Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67-68 (1991). Further,

habeas review concerns only the proceedings that have resulted in the petitioner’s

conviction, and does not concern any state court collateral matters. See Hassine v.

Zimmerman, 160 F.3d 941, 954 (3d Cir. 1998). Thus, claims which are based upon

problems with obtaining state collateral relief are not cognizable. See id. This includes any

claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(i).

B. Exhaustion and Procedural Default

A habeas petitioner must exhaust state court remedies before obtaining habeas

relief. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1)(A). Traditionally, this meant that the petitioner had to show

that his claim was fairly presented to the trial court, the Superior Court and the Supreme

Court of Pennsylvania. See Evans v. Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County, 959 F.2d

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 7 of 49
4The Supreme Court’s May 9, 2000 order states that Pennsylvania appellants need

not seek allowance of appeal in order to exhaust state court remedies. See Lambert v.

Blackwell, 387 F.3d 210, 233 (3d Cir. 2004). The Third Circuit has held that this order does

not apply in cases where the time to seek allowance of appeal expired before May 9, 2000.

See Wenger v. Frank, 266 F.3d 218, 226 (3d Cir. 2001).

5The habeas court can follow a procedural default relied upon by the state court

even if, in an alternative holding, the state court addresses the merits of the claim. See

Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 264 n.10 (1989).

6A common reason the state courts would decline to review a claim that has not

been presented previously is the expiration of the statute of limitations for state collateral

review. See Keller v. Larkins, 251 F.3d 408, 415 (3d Cir. 2001).

8

1227, 1230 (3d Cir. 1992). However, in light of a May 9, 2000 order of the Supreme Court

of Pennsylvania, it is no longer necessary for Pennsylvania inmates to seek allowance of

appeal from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in order to exhaust state remedies.4 See

Lambert v. Blackwell, 387 F.3d 210, 233-34 (3d Cir. 2004).

A claim presented to the state courts which was not reviewed on the merits because

of a failure to comply with a state rule of procedure is considered procedurally defaulted.5

See Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 262-63 (1989). When such a claim is not later

addressed on the merits by a higher court, we must presume that the higher state court’s

decision rests on the procedural default identified by the lower state court. See Ylst v.

Nunnemaker, 501 U.S. 797, 803 (1991). Finally, when a habeas petitioner has failed to

exhaust a claim and it is clear that the state courts would not consider it because of a state

procedural rule, the claim is also considered procedurally defaulted.6 See Coleman v.

Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 735 n.1 (1991).

Procedurally defaulted claims cannot be reviewed unless the petitioner “can

demonstrate cause for the default and actual prejudice as a result of the alleged violation

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 8 of 49
7This evidence need not be directly related to the habeas claims the petitioner is

presenting because the habeas claims themselves need not demonstrate that he is

innocent. See Schlup, 513 U.S. at 315.

9

of federal law, or demonstrate that failure to consider the claims will result in a fundamental

miscarriage of justice.” Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. at 750. In order to demonstrate

cause, the petitioner must show that “some objective factor external to the defense

impeded [the petitioner's] efforts to comply with the state's procedural rule.” Id. at 753

(citation omitted). Examples of cause include: (1) a showing that the factual or legal basis

for a claim was not reasonably available; (2) a showing that some interference by state

officials made compliance with the state procedural rule impracticable; (3) attorney error

that constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel. Id. at 753-54. 

The fundamental miscarriage of justice exception is limited to cases of “actual

innocence”. Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 321-22 (1995). In order to demonstrate that

he is “actually innocent”, the petitioner must present new, reliable evidence of his

innocence that was not presented at trial.7 Id. at 316-17, 324. The court must consider the

evidence of innocence presented along with all the evidence in the record, even that which

was excluded or unavailable at trial. Id. at 327-28. Once all this evidence is considered,

the petitioner's defaulted claims can only be reviewed if the court is satisfied “that it is more

likely than not that no reasonable juror would have found petitioner guilty beyond a

reasonable doubt.” Id. at 327.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 9 of 49
10

C. Standard for Issuance of the Writ

The habeas statute as amended by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty

Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) provides that this court cannot grant habeas relief on a claim that

has been adjudicated by a state court unless the state court’s adjudication of the claim: 

(1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or

involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established

Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the

United States; or

(2) resulted in a decision that was based on an

unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence

presented in the State court proceedings.

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)-(2). The habeas statute also provides that any findings of fact

made by the state court must be presumed to be correct. Petitioner will bear the burden

of rebutting the presumption of correctness by clear and convincing evidence. 28 U.S.C.

§ 2254(e)(1).

A state court’s adjudication of a claim is contrary to Supreme Court precedent if the

state court has applied a rule that contradicts the governing law set forth in Supreme Court

precedent or if the state court confronts a set of facts which are materially indistinguishable

from a decision of the Supreme Court and the state court arrives at a different result from

the Supreme Court. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362 at 405-06 (2000). In determining

whether a state court’s decision was contrary to Supreme Court precedent, the habeas

court must not be quick to attribute error. See Woodford v. Visciotti, 537 U.S. 19, 24

(2002) (per curiam). Rather, state court decisions should be “given the benefit of the

doubt.” Id. In that regard, it is not necessary that the state court cite the governing

Supreme Court precedent or even be aware of the governing Supreme Court precedent.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 10 of 49
11

Early v. Packer, 537 U.S. 3, 8 (2002) (per curiam). All that is required is that there be no

contradiction in the Supreme Court precedent with either “the reasoning [or] the result of

the state-court decision.” Id. 

If, however, the state court does correctly identify the governing United States

Supreme Court precedent, unreasonable application analysis, rather than contrary

analysis, is appropriate. Id. at 406. A state court decision constitutes an unreasonable

application of Supreme Court precedent if the state court correctly identifies the governing

legal rule but applies it unreasonably to the facts of the habeas petitioner’s case. Williams

v. Taylor, 529 U.S. at 407-08. In making the unreasonable application determination, the

habeas court must ask whether the state court’s application of Supreme Court precedent

was objectively unreasonable. Id. at 409. The habeas court may not grant relief simply

because it believes the state court’s adjudication of the petitioner’s claim was incorrect.

Id. at 411. Rather, the habeas court must be convinced that the state court’s adjudication

of the claim was objectively unreasonable. Id. When deciding whether a state court’s

application of Supreme Court precedent was unreasonable, it is permissible to consider

the decisions of lower federal courts which have applied Supreme Court precedent. See

Marshall v. Fredericks, 307 F.3d 36, 71 n.24 (3d Cir. 2002); Moore v. Morton, 255 F.3d 95,

104 n.8 (3d Cir. 2001).

With respect to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2) and 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1), the Third Circuit

has noted that both, “express the same fundamental principle of deference to state court

[factual] findings.” Lambert v. Blackwell, 387 F.3d 210, 235 (3d Cir. 2004). The difference

between the two provisions is that § 2254(d)(2) requires the habeas court to restrict its

review of the state court’s factual determination to the evidence that was presented to the

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 11 of 49
12

state court. Id. In light of the evidence presented to the state court, the habeas court

must determine whether the state court’s adjudication of the claim was reasonable. Id.

On the other hand, § 2254(e)(1) refers to “specific factual determinations made by the state

court, and that are subsidiary to the ultimate decision.” Id. Those subsidiary factual

determinations are subject to a presumption of correctness which the petitioner must rebut

by clear and convincing evidence. Id. The petitioner may rely upon evidence that was not

presented to the state court in order to rebut the presumption. Id. In the end however,

even if the petitioner can rebut certain individual factual determinations under the

§2254(e)(1) standard for the habeas court to grant relief under § 2254(d)(2), it must decide

whether, in light of the state court’s unrebutted factual determinations, that state court’s the

adjudication of the claim was unreasonable. Id. at 236 n.19. 

D. Certificate of Appealability

In order for Greene to be able to appeal the dismissal and denial of any of his

claims, the court must grant him a certificate of appealability (“COA”). 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c).

A COA can issue with respect to claims resolved on procedural grounds such as noncognizability or procedural default if “jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the

petition states a valid claim of the denial of a constitutional right and [if] jurists of reason

would find it debatable whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling.” Slack

v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000). In Slack, the Supreme Court went on to explain

that:

Where a plain procedural bar is present and the district court

is correct to invoke it to dispose of the case, a reasonable jurist

could not conclude either that the district court erred in

dismissing the petition or that the petitioner should be allowed

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 12 of 49
13

to proceed further. In such a circumstance, no appeal would

be warranted.

Id. Further, the Supreme Court has held that, since the petitioner must make showings

with respect to both the procedural issue and the underlying, constitutional issue, a court

may resolve the COA question if either showing is lacking. Id. at 484-85. 

For claims resolved by application of the AEDPA standard of review contained at

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), a COA can only be granted if jurists of reason could find the court’s

application of the AEDPA standard of review to the claim was debatable. See Miller-El v.

Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336 (2003). 

For the reasons set forth below, we believe that Greene has failed to meet AEDPA’s

heavy burden with respect to all of his cognizable claims which are not procedurally

defaulted. At the same time, however, we conclude for the reasons discussed within that

“jurists of reason” would find debatable a denial of the writ with respect to his Confrontation

Clause claim. Accordingly, as to that claim, and that claim alone, we RECOMMEND that

a CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY be GRANTED.

E. Due Process Claims

Three of Greene’s claims - those relating to his access to a complete trial transcript,

the admission of evidence of an arguably connected robbery and his right to appeal his

denial of his PCRA petition - appear to implicate his right to due process. We discuss each

claim on an issue-by-issue basis within. We find that each of these claims which we

discuss within are either not cognizable or procedurally defaulted. We also find that

Greene has not established the cause and prejudice or fundamental miscarriage of justice

necessary to require that any of them be reviewed on the merits.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 13 of 49
8We believe that “jurists of reason” would not debate this conclusion. Accordingly,

we recommend that a Certificate of Appealability not be granted.

9The state need not produce the entire trial transcript if the claims the defendant

intends to raise on appeal only concern some portions of the trial. See Draper v.

Washington, 373 U.S. 487, 495 (1963). On direct appeal, Petitioner argued that his claim

of insufficiency of the evidence could not be addressed without the missing testimony of

Jackson. See Petitioner’s Direct Appeal Brief at 12, 16-18. This is sufficient to implicate

the state’s duty to provide Petitioner with the transcript of Jackson’s testimony. See

Draper, 373 U.S. at 497.

14

1. Right to an Effective Appeal

Petitioner’s first claim is that he was denied the right to an effective appeal because

the trial court failed to provide him a complete trial transcript. See Brief in Support pp. 11-

19. He raises this issue both with respect to his direct appeal and his PCRA proceedings.

In that habeas relief can only be granted with respect to the proceedings that have

resulted in the petitioner’s conviction, his complaint about not having received a complete

trial transcript during PCRA proceedings is not cognizable.8 See Hassine v. Zimmerman,

160 F.3d 941, 954 (3d Cir. 1998). 

A failure of the trial court to provide Petitioner a complete trial transcript on direct

appeal, however, is cognizable in that he was indigent at the time and the state courts have

a duty to provide indigent defendants with a copy of the trial transcript or an equivalent

report of the events at trial such as to allow for pursuit of an adequate and effective direct

appeal.9 See Draper v. Washington, 372 U.S. 487, 495-96 (1963); Griffin v. Illinois, 351

U.S. 12, 16 (1956).

This claim was raised on direct appeal and was adjudicated by the Superior Court.

 There, Petitioner argued that he had not been provided the transcript of the testimony of

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 14 of 49
10We note that the District Attorney has provided us with the complete trial transcript,

including the testimony of Demond Jackson which started on February 29, 1996 and

continued on March 4, 1996.

11A procedural default must be adequate and independent of federal law in order to

bar habeas review. See Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 260 (1989). One might argue that

Rule 1923 is not truly independent of federal law because the procedure it requires is

designed to afford an appellant the ability to obtain an adequate factual record to challenge

his conviction, which is precisely the right an indigent appellant has under the Fourteenth

Amendment. See Draper, 372 U.S. at 495-96. However, Greene has not raised the issue

and, indeed, the parties have not briefed the questions of adequacy and independence.

We decline to address them sua sponte.

12Greene did not number the pages of his September 30, 2005 response. His

assertions of innocence are found on the sixth and seventh pages of his response.

15

Demond Jackson, the only witness who identified him as a participant in the crime.10 See

Commonwealth v. Trice, No. 01829 Philadelphia 1996, slip op. at 4 (Pa. Super. Dec. 16,

1997). The Superior Court determined, however, that Greene had waived this claim

because he had failed to avail himself of Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1923

(“Rule 1923"). Id. at 4-5. The rule provides that, when a transcript is unavailable, an

appellant may prepare a statement of the evidence from the best available means,

including his own recollection. Id. Because the Superior Court found that Petitioner had

waived his claim by failing to comply with the rule, it had been procedurally defaulted.11

Greene has made no effort to demonstrate cause and prejudice to excuse the

default of this cognizable claim. He has, however, asserted his innocence.

See Petitioner’s September 30, 2005 Response at [6], [7].12 Yet, the actual innocence

standard established by Schlup v. Delo, supra, is not satisfied by simple assertions of

innocence. Instead, to avail himself of the fundamental miscarriage of justice exception

for procedural default, Greene must provide new, reliable evidence of his innocence that

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 15 of 49
13We believe that “jurists of reason” would not debate our conclusion that Greene’s

claim is procedurally defaulted and cannot be reviewed on its merits. Accordingly, a COA

should not be granted for the claim.

14On direct appeal, the Superior Court concluded that the trial court had not abused

its discretion in deciding to admit evidence concerning the Ace Check Cashing robbery.

See Commonwealth v. Trice, No. 01829 Philadelphia 1996, slip op. at 11-12 (Pa. Super.

Dec 16, 1997).

15In the last paragraph of this section of his brief, Greene does state that the trial

judge’s decision to admit some evidence concerning the Ace Check Cashing robbery

denied him the constitutional right to a fair trial. One might argue that, by doing so, he is

attempting to invoke the Due Process Clause as a basis for relief. However, Petitioner

cites no cases which rely upon the Due Process Clause and, except for one, brief mention

of his constitutional right to a fair trial, the rest of this section of his brief is devoted to

explaining why, under state law, the trial judge erred in admitting any evidence concerning

the Ace Check Cashing robbery. Under these circumstances, we find that Greene has

failed to raise a cognizable claim.

16We believe that “jurists of reason” would not debate this conclusion. Accordingly,

a COA should not be granted for the claim.

16

was not presented at his trial. See Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. at 316-17, 324. This Greene

has utterly failed to do. Accordingly, his cognizable claim is procedurally defaulted.

13

2. Testimony about the Ace Check Cashing Robbery

Petitioner’s ninth claim is that it was error for the trial judge to have admitted any

testimony concerning the Ace Check Cashing robbery. See Brief in Support pp. 48-50.

Greene argues that the decision to admit this evidence was an error of state evidentiary

law.14 As the claim is based upon state law, it is not cognizable.15 See Estelle v. McGuire,

502 U.S. at 67-68.16

3. Governmental Interference with PCRA Appeal

Petitioner’s twelfth claim is that is that he was denied the right to appeal the PCRA

court’s denial of PCRA relief as a result of governmental interference. See Brief in Support

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 16 of 49
17We believe “jurists of reason” would not debate this conclusion. Accordingly, a

COA should not be granted for the claim.

18As will be explained, we will recommend that a certificate of appealability be

granted with respect to Greene’s claim concerning the redactions in the confessions of

Finney and Womack.

17

pp. 56-60. He complains that the state court officials failed to provide him with transcripts

of trial proceedings which he contends were needed in order to effectively appeal the

PCRA court’s denial of PCRA relief to the Superior Court. As this relates directly to state

court collateral proceedings, it is not cognizable.17 See Hassine v. Zimmerman, 160 F.3d

at 954.

F. Severance-Related Claims

Greene raises six claims which are related to the alleged trial court error of failing

to sever his trial from the trial of his co-defendant Julius Jenkins. He argues that this

failure subjected him to a death qualified jury, infringed upon his Sixth Amendment

Confrontation Clause rights, subjected him to prejudicial testimony concerning another,

unrelated offense, allowed police testimony vouching for a commonwealth witness, and

gave the prosecutor the opportunity to refer to him by gesture and in general statements

when referring to the confessions of co-defendants in closing argument.

We discuss each severance-related claim within. We find one claim is not

cognizable and another is procedurally defaulted. The others are reviewed on their merits.

Given the current state of habeas jurisprudence, we conclude that they all lack merit.18

1. The Death Qualified Jury

Petitioner’s third claim is that is that his trial should have been severed at least from

co-defendant, Julius Jenkins, in that he (Jenkins) was subject to the death penalty and

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 17 of 49
19In Lockhart v. McCree, the Court held that death qualification of the jury for a

defendant subject to the death penalty did not violate the defendant’s right to a jury

selected from a fair cross-section of the community nor the defendant’s right to an impartial

jury. See Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162, 173-84 (1986).

18

Petitioner was not. See Brief in Support pp. 20-23. Petitioner notes that this circumstance

denied him a jury of his peers because it allowed 23 potential jurors who were opposed to

the death penalty to be excused from service.

This claim was adjudicated by the Superior Court on direct appeal. That court

concluded that the claim lacked merit because the United States Supreme Court and the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court had upheld the constitutionality of death qualified juries even

for co-defendants where the death penalty was not being sought. Commonwealth v. Trice,

No. 01829 Philadelphia 1996, slip op. at 7 (Pa. Super. Dec. 16, 1997) (citing, inter alia,

Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162 (1986)).

In Buchanan v. Kentucky, 483 U.S. 402 (1987), the Supreme Court was faced with

a claim virtually identical to that raised by Petitioner. David Buchanan was not subject to

the death penalty but his co-defendant was. Buchanan, 483 U.S. at 404, 408.

Unfortunately for Buchanan (and Greene here), the Supreme Court concluded that he could

not demonstrate that being tried by a death qualified jury violated either his right to a jury

selected from a fair cross section of the community nor his right to an impartial jury. Id. at

415-20. The Court repeatedly cited its decision in Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162

(1986), as support for its conclusions.19

The Superior Court’s adjudication of Greene’s claim is entirely consistent with the

Supreme Court’s decision in Buchanan. Indeed, like the United States Supreme Court, the

Pennsylvania Superior Court relied upon Lockhart v. McCree as support for its decision.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 18 of 49
20We believe “jurists of reason” would not debate our application of the AEDPA

standard of review to this claim. Accordingly, a COA should not be granted for the claim.

19

Since the Superior Court’s adjudication is entirely consistent with Buchanan, it cannot be

said to be contrary to nor an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent. Thus,

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1) provides no basis to afford Petitioner habeas relief. Similarly, 28

U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2) provides Petitioner no relief as he does not challenge the Superior

Court’s adjudication of his claim as being unreasonable in light of the facts presented to the

Superior Court.20

2. Redaction of the Confessions of Co-Defendants Finney and

Womack

Greene’s fourth claim is that the confessions of his two co-defendants, Atil Finney

and Gregory Womack, were improperly redacted. See Brief in Support pp. 23-29. Greene

argues that the redactions were insufficient to protect his Confrontation Clause rights under

the line of cases which follow Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968).

At trial, Detective Michael Gross read the redacted confession he had taken from codefendant Finney. Gross’s testimony was based on questions the detective had posed to

Finney and Finney’s responses:

We were riding around in this, this guy’s car, me and three

other guys were in North Philadelphia. We – when one said

let’s get paid. Everyone said okay and we saw this store. So

me and two guys went in the store. When we got inside two

guys stayed up front and I stayed to the back. One guy had

his gun on the guy and was at the cash register. Getting the

money. But it wouldn’t. I heard a shot and I looked over.

Blood was coming out of the guy’s mouth. After that someone

grabbed the register and we all ran out.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 19 of 49
21The state court has not provided us with the state court record. However, the

District Attorney has provided us with a copy of the complete trial transcript.

20

(N.T. 3/5/96 at 117-18).21 Gross then testified about Finney’s description of leaving the

scene of the crime:

We ran to the car and went back up Germantown. We went to

someone’s house. It’s an apartment. And two guys got

screwdrivers and opened up the register.

Id. at 118. According to Gross, Finney then explained that $65 was in the cash register

and that it was split up evenly between all the participants. Id. Gross testified that he

asked Finney if he knew any of the defendants by name. Finney told him that, “one is and

the other is. I only know two of them by their nicknames.” Id. Gross told the jury that he

showed some photographs and Finney identified three of them as follows: “Number three

is. Number six is. Number eight is.” Id. at 119. He was also asked if he knew “a guy

named blank?” Id. Finney responded that he did and he identified a photograph of “blank.”

Id. Gross then testified that he also asked Finney who shot the owner of the store and he

responded, “Someone.” Id. at 120. During Detective Gross’s reading of the redacted

confession, the trial court instructed the jury that a rule of evidence provides that the

confession of a defendant to certain criminal actions can be used by the jury only against

the defendant who made the confession and not against any other defendant. Id. at 125.

The jurors were instructed that they could not use the confession in any way against any

other defendant. Id.

At trial, Detective Joseph Walsh read the redacted confession he had taken from

co-defendant Womack. The redacted confession was based on questions Detective

Walsh posed to co-defendant Womack and Womack’s responses:

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 20 of 49
21

QUESTION: Did you know the deceased, Francisco

Azcona?

ANSWER: No.

QUESTION: Do you know who shot and killed

Francisco Azcona?

ANSWER: Yes.

QUESTION: What is his last name and where does he

live?

ANSWER: His name is blank. He used to live on top

of the bar.

QUESTION: How long have you known him?

ANSWER: About three or four years.

QUESTION: Where were you when he shot and killed

Francisco Azcona?

ANSWER: In my car, the station wagon.

QUESTION: I want you to go on in your own words and

tell me what you know about the murder of Francisco Azcona,

that occurred on December the 11th, 1993.

ANSWER: It was me and another guy. We were in the

car, the other three went in the store. The car was around the

corner and then they came out of the store carrying a cash

register. As we pulled off the shooter said he shot the guy. I

think someone asked him why did he shoot the guy? He didn’t

answer him. Then we drove up our neighborhood. Then we

drove to someone’s and we opened the register and got the

money and we took the register and dumped it in a trash

dumpster in a townhouse.

QUESTION: Do you know someone’s real name and

where he lives?

ANSWER: I don’t know his real name. He lives

somewhere in blank.

QUESTION: Do you know someone else’s real name

and where he lives?

ANSWER: We call him blank. I don’t know where he

lives. Somewhere up dog [sic] town.

QUESTION: What is someone else’s real name and

where does he live?

ANSWER: I don’t know his real name --“

(N.T. 3/6/96 at 38-39). After a sidebar, Detective Walsh completed co-defendant

Womack’s answer as follows: “I don’t know his real name, but when we were locked up

he used blank.” Id. at 41-42. In the remainder of the confession as read by Walsh,

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 21 of 49
22

Womack explained that he had known one of the participants for 10 years and had met

another just before the robbery. Id. at 42. Womack also stated he was not sure if anyone

other than the shooter was armed, id. at 42, that the gun the shooter had was a .45

revolver, id. at 43, that the money was split among all the participants, id. at 43-44, and that

he drove the getaway car. Id. at 44. 

At the time Detective Walsh read Womack’s redacted confession to the jury, the trial

court did not provide any limiting instructions as it had when Finney’s redacted confession

was read. However, when the court delivered its final instructions to the jury, it explicitly

told them that they could only use the confessions of co-defendants Finney and Womack

against the defendant who had made the confession and that they could not be used as

evidence against any other defendant. (N.T. 3/11/96 at 16).

Petitioner’s claim was adjudicated by the Superior Court on direct appeal. That

court, in its December 16, 1997 opinion, noted that the statements of Finney and Womack

had been redacted to remove any reference to the other defendants by name and to

replace certain references by pronouns such as “we” and “they.” Commonwealth v. Trice,

No. 01829 Philadelphia 1996, slip op. at 8-9 (Pa. Super. Dec. 16, 1997). The Superior

Court also noted that the trial court had given proper limiting instructions and that Petitioner

was not unduly prejudiced by the redacted statements. Id. at 9. For all these reasons and

because of the preference for joint trials of co-conspirators, the Superior Court concluded

that Petitioner’s Confrontation Clause rights were not violated. Id. 

As we set out in our procedural history (p.2 infra), the decision of the Pennsylvania

courts did not become final until July 29, 1999 largely because of the determination that

allocator to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had been improvidently granted. As we

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 22 of 49
22We must apply the AEDPA standard of review to the Superior Court’s adjudication

of the claim because that is the highest substantive state court decision addressing the

claim. Fountain v. Kyler, 420 F.3d 267, 273-74 (3d Cir. 2005).

23

discuss within, the difference between these two dates is significant because of the

Supreme Court’s March 9, 1998 decision in Gray v. Maryland, 523 U.S. 185 (1998).

In consideration of the standard of review mandated by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) and

recognizing the timing and potential significance of Gray, we must decide whether the,

“clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United

States,” is to be considered as of the date the Superior Court adjudicated Petitioner’s claim

(December 16, 1997) or on the date Petitioner’s conviction became final on direct appeal

(July 29, 1999). 

a. Timing of Clearly Established Law

If the applicable date to consider the state court determination of federal law is the

date the judgment became final (July 29, 1999), we would have to take into account the

Supreme Court’s Gray decision. In that Confrontation Clause case, which came down in

March 1998, the Supreme Court clarified the law by making it clear that the simple

redaction of the name of a non-confessing co-defendant with obvious indications of

deletions, may not be enough to provide the Confrontation Clause protection mandated by

our law. If the earlier date (December 16, 1997) is used, Gray will not have to be

considered a part of the relevant precedent. For the reasons which follow, we conclude

that the state of United States Supreme Court precedent must be considered as of the

earlier date, which means we will evaluate the matter without the benefit of the Gray

decision.22

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 23 of 49
23Priester was tried along with Nathaniel Butler on charges that they had participated

in a fatal shooting. Priester, 382 F.3d at 396. At the time of the shooting, Tracey Postell

was in the car with Priester and Butler. Postell and Butler had confessed to police after the

crime. Postell had agreed to plead guilty and testify against Priester and Butler at their

joint trial. Priester, 382 F.3d at 396. At trial, Postell attempted to recant the confession he

had given to police by stating he had lied and had not witnessed the crime because he was

asleep in the car at the time of the shooting. Id. As a result of Postell’s refusal to testify

in a manner consistent with his confession, the trial court allowed the prosecution to use

the redacted confession of Butler. Id.

24In the alternative, the Third Circuit also explained why Priester could not prevail

even if Gray was considered. Priester, 382 F.3d at 400.

24

The Third Circuit’s decision in Priester v. Vaughn, 382 F.3d 394 (3d Cir. 2004), is

instructive. Priester was convicted in 1992. His conviction did not become final however

until January 1, 1994 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s denial of his petition for

allocator and he chose not to seek certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. At issue

was the Commonwealth’s use of his co-defendant’s redacted confession where reference

to Priester was deleted in favor of phrases like “the other guy.”23 Making specific reference

to Gray, the Third Circuit concluded that Priester could not show that the Superior Court

acted unreasonably by failing to consider Gray in that it was decided several years after

the Superior Court’s adjudication of Priester’s claim.24

While the Third Circuit appears to suggest that Supreme Court precedent should

be evaluated as of the date of the Superior Court’s adjudication, the court was not required

to consider the alternative finality date in that there was no relevant precedent to consider

between the time of the Superior Court’s adjudication of the claim (November 18, 1992)

and the time that Priester’s conviction became final (January 1, 1994).

The Supreme Court has also addressed this timing issue, although not in cases

involving redacted confessions. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362 (2000), is a habeas case

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 24 of 49
25Teague v. Lane establishes the principle that, absent certain narrow exceptions,

new constitutional rules of criminal procedure that are decided after a defendant’s

conviction becomes final on direct appeal will not be applied retroactively to the defendant

if he seeks collateral review of his conviction. Teague, 489 U.S. at 310 (plurality opinion).

This non-retroactivity principle was adopted by a majority of the court in Penry v. Lynaugh,

492 U.S. 302, 313 (1989).

25

where the principal issue concerned the effectiveness of counsel at the penalty phrase of

a capital case. Justice Stevens writing for the majority of the Court on Parts I, III and IV

of the opinion set out the specific issue relevant to us in Part III:

In this case, Williams contends that he was denied his

constitutionally guaranteed right to the effective assistance of

counsel when his trial lawyers failed to investigate and to

present substantial mitigating evidence to the sentencing jury.

The threshold question under AEDPA is whether Williams

seeks to apply a rule of law that was clearly established at the

time his state-court conviction became final. 

529 U.S. at 390 (emphasis added). This approach is consistent with the earlier portion of

Justice Steven’s opinion which argues that, in 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), Congress sought

to codify the Supreme Court’s non-retroactivity rules from the line of cases following

Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288 (1989).25 See Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. at 379-82

(Stevens, J., concurring).

However, the portion of Justice Stevens’s opinion which provides this reasoning

(Part II) did not garner a majority of the Supreme Court. Instead, a majority of the Court

followed the opinion of Justice O’Connor and took the position that 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)

had “only a slight connection to our Teague jurisprudence.” Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S.

at 412. In the portion of Justice O”Connor’s opinion that spoke for the majority of the

Supreme Court, she wrote.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 25 of 49
26Teague and its progeny establish that the habeas court must determine what law

was clearly established at the time the petitioner’s conviction became final on direct appeal.

See e.g., Caspari v. Bohlen, 510 U.S. 383, 390 (1994).

27Putting aside Priester v. Vaughn, recent Third Circuit precedent concerning this

timing issue has also been inconsistent. In a case decided in October 2004, the Third

Circuit took the position that the state of Supreme Court precedent must be evaluated as

of the date of the state court decision under review. See Gibbs v. Frank, 387 F.3d 268,

272 (3d Cir. 2004) (citing Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. at 412; Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S.

26

Throughout this discussion the meaning of the phrase “clearly

established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court

of the United States” has been put to the side. That statutory

phrase refers to the holdings, as opposed to the dicta, of this

Court’s decisions as of the time of the relevant state-court

decision.

Id. (emphasis added). In spite of taking a position which is inconsistent with Teague26,

Justice O’Connor went on to write for the Court that Teague jurisprudence concerning what

constituted an old rule would control what was the clearly established law for purposes of

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. at 412. The only caveat was that

Supreme Court precedent could be the only source of the clearly established law. Id.

In spite of this initial lack of clarity, the Supreme Court in subsequent cases has

consistently noted that, for purposes of applying 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), Supreme Court

precedent must be evaluated as of the date the relevant state court adjudicated the

petitioner’s claim. See Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 124 S.Ct. 2140, 2147

(2004); Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 520 (2003); Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63, 71-

72 (2003). In light of this consistent, more recent precedent and in light of Priester v.

Vaughn, we conclude, for purposes of applying 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), that the state of

Supreme Court precedent must be evaluated as of the date Greene’s claim was

adjudicated by the Superior Court.27 Thus, we will not in our evaluation of this issue

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 26 of 49
at 71-72). In Gibbs, the Third Circuit relied upon the portion of Justice O’Connor’s opinion

that garnered a majority of the Court in Williams v. Taylor and on Lockyer v. Andrade.

However, in a case decided one month before Gibbs v. Frank, the Third Circuit took the

position that the state of Supreme Court precedent should be evaluated as of the date the

Petitioner’s conviction became final. See Fischetti v. Johnson, 384 F.3d 140, 148 (3d Cir.

2004) (citing Marshall v. Hendricks, 307 F.3d 36, 62 (3d Cir. 2002), Moore v. Morton 255

F.3d 95, 104-05 & n.8 (3d Cir. 2001)). Further, in case decided in March 2004, the Third

Circuit again took a similar position without citing Marshall or Moore. See Lewis v.

Johnson, 359 F.3d 646, 652-53 (3d Cir. 2004) (citing Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. at 390).

Instead, the Third Circuit relied upon the portion of Justice Stevens’s opinion that garnered

a majority of the Court in Williams v. Taylor.

27

consider Gray v. Maryland as being part of the clearly established Supreme Court

precedent that must be applied.

b. Application of the AEDPA Standard of Review

Consideration of Petitioner’s Confrontation Clause claim must begin with Bruton v.

United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968). In Bruton, George William Bruton was tried on a

charge of armed postal robbery along with “one Evans.” Bruton, 391 U.S. at 124. Prior to

trial, Evans had made a statement to police in which he admitted that he and Bruton had

committed the crime. Id. At trial, this confession was read to the jury but the trial judge

instructed the jury that the it was to be considered against Evans only could not be used

in any way against Bruton. Id. at 125. The Supreme Court concluded that the limiting

instruction given by the trial judge was insufficient to prevent the risk that the jury would

nonetheless consider Evans’s confession as evidence against Bruton. In the view of the

Court, the inability of Bruton to cross-examine Evans was deemed a violation of his Sixth

Amendment right of confrontation. Id. at 126, 137.

The Supreme Court next addressed this Confrontation Clause issue in the context

of a co-defendant’s statement in Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200 (1987). There,

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 27 of 49
28

Clarissa Marsh, Benjamin Williams and Kareem Martin were charged with assaulting

Cynthia Knighton and murdering her four year old son, Koran, and her aunt, Ollie Scott.

Id. at 202. Marsh was tried together with Williams only because Martin was a fugitive at

the time of trial. Id. Knighton testified about Marsh’s participation in the charged offenses.

Id. As in Bruton, the confession of Williams, who did not testify, was read to the jury in

redacted form. Id. at 203. All references to Marsh were eliminated. Indeed, as redacted

the confession indicated that only Williams and Martin participated in the charged offenses.

Id. & n.1. Further, the jury was admonished not to consider Williams’s confession in any

way against Marsh. Id. at 204.

Unlike Bruton, however, Marsh did testify at trial. Id. She corroborated some of the

details in Williams’s confession and in Knighton’s testimony. Id. She also testified,

however, that she had no prior knowledge that Williams and Martin were armed, that she

had not heard any conversation between them about anyone being harmed and that she

certainly had not intended to rob or kill anyone. Id. 

As a fundamental proposition, the Court articulated the principle that a witness

whose testimony is introduced at trial is not considered to be a witness against the

defendant (and hence not subject to the Confrontation Clause) if the jury is instructed to

consider the testimony only against a co-defendant. Id. at 206. The Court noted that this

rule is based upon the long held presumption that jurors follow the instructions they are

given. Id. at 206-07 (collecting cases). The Court then characterized Bruton, where the

confession of a non-testifying co-defendant incriminated the defendant on its face to be a

narrow exception to this presumption. Id. at 207. The court accepted that in that limited

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 28 of 49
28Greene also argues that Cruz v. New York, 481 U.S. 186 (1987) is relevant

precedent. See Petitioner’s Brief in Support at 27. We disagree.

 Cruz involved the admission of a co-defendant’s unredacted confession which

facially incriminated defendant Eulogio Cruz. Cruz, 481 U.S. at 188-89. The trial court

instructed the jury that the co-defendant’s confession was not to be used against Cruz. Id.

at 189. The unredacted confession was admitted on the ground that it “interlocked” with

Cruz’s own confession, as related by a witness who allegedly heard Cruz’s confession.

Id. at 188-89. The Supreme Court held that the interlocking natures of the two confessions

did not create an exception to Bruton which would allow admission of the co-defendant’s

confession so long as a limiting instruction was given. Id. at 193. Indeed, Cruz was

decided to resolve the question of whether the interlocking nature of a co-defendant’s

confession with the defendant’s confession was an exception to Bruton. Id. at 188. 

 This case does not involve a confession of Greene that interlocks with the

confessions of his co-defendants. Indeed, Petitioner did not confess in this case. Further,

as explained in the body of this opinion, the confessions of co-defendants Finney and

Womack do not facially incriminate Petitioner. For these reasons, Cruz does not provide

assistance in resolving the merits of Greene’s claim.

29

circumstance the trial court’s cautionary instruction would not protect the defendant’s

Confrontation Clause rights. Id. 

In Marsh however, Williams’s redacted confession did not incriminate Marsh on its

face. Indeed, it did not even mention Marsh. Id. at 208, 211. Only when linked to other

evidence admitted at trial and, in particular, Marsh’s own testimony could it be said to be

incriminating. Id. The Court concluded that, in these circumstances, a limiting instruction

would be sufficient to protect Marsh’s Confrontation Clause rights. Id. at 208-11. The

Court also expressed its view that, if a co-defendant’s confession facially incriminates the

defendant, the Confrontation Clause rights of the defendant can be protected by redaction.

Id. at 209.

Marsh was the last, relevant case in the Bruton line which the Supreme Court

decided before the Superior Court adjudicated Greene’s claim.28 We are compelled to

conclude, based upon Bruton and Marsh, that a co-defendant’s confession which does not,

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 29 of 49
29If Gray were considered part of the clearly established precedent, the relevant

inquiry would be different. Instead, we would have to consider whether the confessions

were redacted in a manner which made it obvious that the declarants had identified other

defendants. See Gray 523 U.S. at 192.

30

on its face, incriminate the non-confessing defendant combined with a limiting instruction

telling the jury that they may use the confession only against the confessor will protect the

Confrontation Clause rights of the non-confessing defendant. The question thus becomes,

was it reasonable for the Superior Court to conclude that the trial court’s limiting

instructions protected Greene’s Confrontation Clause rights. The resolution of this claim

turns on whether the redacted confessions of Finney and Womack facially incriminated

Petitioner.29

We note that neither confession incriminates Greene directly in that he is not

referred to by name. To this extent, the redacted confessions are similar to the confession

in Marsh. At the same time, they differ from those in Marsh as they mention several,

unnamed participants and thus do not remove all implications of incriminating Petitioner.

When combined with the other evidence in the case which described how many

participants were involved and which corroborated and expanded upon some of the details

in the redacted confessions, they arguably incriminate Greene. The question then is

whether the limiting instructions given by the trial judge informing the jurors that they could

use the confession of co-defendant Finney only against Finney and that they could use the

confession of co-defendant Womack only against Womack provided legally sufficient

protection against any possible violation of the Confrontation Clause.

We conclude that the confessions in this case fall between the facially incriminating

confession in Bruton and the confession in Marsh. Marsh holds that, except for facially

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 30 of 49
30We would not want our conclusions concerning this Confrontation Clause issue

to be construed by the District Attorney as a statement of our approval of the manner in

which these redactions were utilized. In that the Finney and Womack confessions are

relevant only as to the prosecutor’s case against them, we are puzzled as to why it was

deemed necessary to offer evidence reflecting the fact that the confessing defendants

knew the names of certain co-defendants when those names were not and could not be

provided. See Bruton, 391 U.S. at 127.

31

incriminating confessions like the one in Bruton, the reviewing court may presume that

jurors will follow limiting instructions. See Marsh, 481 U.S. at 206-08. While the Superior

Court opinion makes no reference to Marsh, it clearly accepted this principle when it

adjudicated Petitioner’s claim. For this reason, we conclude that neither the reasoning the

Superior Court employed nor the result the Superior Court reached contradicted United

States Supreme Court precedent. Thus, under the AEDPA standard of review, Petitioner

cannot obtain habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1).30 Further, 28 U.S.C. §

2254(d)(2) also provides no basis for habeas relief in that Petitioner does not challenge the

Superior Court’s adjudication of his claim as being unreasonable in light of the facts

presented to the Superior Court.

c. Certificate of Appealabiity

Our application of the AEDPA standard of review to Greene’s Confrontation Clause

claim is premised on the conclusion that we have to determine what law was clearly

established by Supreme Court precedent as of the date the Superior Court adjudicated

Greene’s claim. This meant that we would not consider the Supreme Court’s decision in

Gray, which was decided shortly after the Superior Court’s adjudication. However, we

must concede that there is no binding precedent which has squarely decided that a habeas

court must only consider Supreme Court precedent decided by the time the relevant state

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 31 of 49
32

court adjudicated the Petitioner’s claim and may not consider Supreme Court precedent

decided after the state court’s adjudication but before the Petitioner’s conviction became

final. Further, given the inconsistencies in Williams v. Taylor concerning the date to be

used when applying 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1) and given the inconsistencies in Third Circuit

precedent on this issue, reasonable jurists might conclude differently. Indeed, in spite of

Priester, two different panels of the Third Circuit have recently concluded that the date to

be used is the date a conviction becomes final. See Fischetti v. Johnson, 384 U.S. at 148;

Lewis v. Johnson, 359 U.S. at 646, 652-53 (3d Cir. 2004). Thus, on this question, we

believe and therefore RECOMMEND that a COA issue. 

In addition, if it is ultimately determined that we have erred and the date to be used

when applying 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1) should be the date Greene’s conviction became

final, Gray would be considered as applicable precedent. As will be seen, if Gray is

considered to be part of the applicable precedent, Petitioner’s Confrontation Clause claim

must be considered to have greater merit. Thus, the court finds that a COA should issue

with respect to this claim. See Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. at 337-38 (noting that, for a

COA to issue, the habeas petitioner must show that his claim is more than frivolous

although he need not demonstrate that he will prevail).

In Gray, Stacey Williams died after a severe beating. Gray, 523 U.S. at 188.

Anthony Bell, Gray’s co-defendant, gave a confession in which he admitted to participating

in the beating along with Gray and Jacquin Vanlandingham. Id. Vanlandingham died and

only Bell and Gray were indicted for the crime. Id. At trial, Bell’s confession was redacted

by leaving blank spaces where Bell had identified Gray and Vanlandingham. Id. at 198-

200. When Bell’s confession was read at trial, the police detective who read it inserted the

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 32 of 49
33

words “deleted” or “deletion” whenever Gray or Vanlandingham’s names appeared. Id. at

188. Bell did not testify at trial. Id. at 189. The trial judge instructed the jury by telling

them that the confession was evidence against Bell only and could not be used against

Gray. Id. at 189.

The question presented in Gray was how the rule of Bruton should be applied when

the confession of a non-testifying co-defendant is redacted to replace the defendant’s

name with an obvious blank space or a symbol or word such as “deleted.” Id. The Court

decided that such redactions, “so closely resemble Bruton’s unredacted statements that,

in our view, the law must require the same result.” Id. at 192. That is, limiting instructions

will not protect a defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights when such redactions are used.

Id. at 192, 195.

In co-defendant Finney’s confession, he referred to the person who took the cash

register as “someone.” (N.T. 3/5/96 at 118). Finney was also asked to name the persons

who had participated with him in the robbery. Id. He answered, “One is and the other is.”

Id. Further, he was asked to identify photographs and he said, “Number three is. Number

six is. Number eight is.” Id. at 119. In addition, he was asked if he knew, “a guy named

blank?” Id. Finney responded that he did and identified a photograph of “blank.” Id. 

It appears clear that the jury, upon hearing Detective Gross’s testimony about the

Finney confession would conclude that the names of other defendants had been redacted

from the confession. Of particular concern here is that the jury may have concluded that

one of the names removed would have been that of Greene. This concern is heightened

given the earlier testimony of Commonwealth witness Demond Jackson that Greene was

the defendant who actually carried the cash register to the car coupled with Finney’s

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 33 of 49
31We note that the trial judge concluded Petitioner was the one who took the cash

register out of the store after the robbery. See Commonwealth v. Trice, No. 95-06-0118,

slip op. at 2 (Phila. Co. Mar. 10, 1997). If the jurors believed Demond Jackson’s testimony

on this point and they reached the same conclusion as did the trial judge, then there is a

greater risk that the jurors would find that co-defendant Finney named Petitioner in his

confession when he stated that “someone” took the cash register out of the store.

34

reference (as testified by Gross) to “someone” carrying the cash register to the getaway

car.31 (N.T. 2/29/96 at 59.)

 In any event, the redacted confession Detective Gross read bears real similarity to

the redacted confession that was read in Gray. As such, we conclude that, if Gray applies

to Petitioner’s Confrontation Clause claim, reasonable jurists could find that his claim has

merit. This is sufficient to warrant granting a COA. See Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. at

337-38.

In co-defendant Womack’s confession, he identified the person who killed the victim

as “blank.” (N.T. 3/6/96 at 38). He was asked to name each of the other three codefendants. Id. at 39. Each time Womack did so, Detective Walsh referred to the codefendant he was asking about as “someone else.” Id. at 39. Womack was also asked

if he knew the real names of the three co-defendants other than the killer. Id. at 39, 41-42.

In one case, Womack did not know the real name. Id. at 39. In the other two cases,

Womack did provide the names, which Detective Walsh read as “blank” to the jury. Id. at

39, 41-42.

As with Detective Gross’s reading of the Finney confession, it seems clear that the

jury would have concluded that the names of other defendants were redacted from the

confession. Unlike the Finney confession however there was nothing said about any

conspirator carrying the cash register to the getaway car. Nonetheless, the redacted

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 34 of 49
32We believe “jurists of reason” would not debate this conclusion. Accordingly, a

COA should not be granted for this claim.

35

confession Detective Walsh read is very similar to the redacted confession that was read

in Gray. As such and coupled with the Jackson testimony and the Finney statement, we

conclude as we did with respect to the Finney confession that, if Gray applies to

Petitioner’s Confrontation Clause claim, reasonable jurists could find that his claim has

merit. This is sufficient to warrant granting a COA. See Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. at

337-38.

3. Officer McKeever’s Testimony Concerning Another Robbery

a. On Cross-Examination

Greene’s fifth claim is that, while being cross-examined by a co-defendant’s

counsel, Officer Mitchell McKeever provided improper and prejudicial testimony concerning

the Ace Check Cashing robbery. See Brief in Support pp. 30-35. Petitioner relies upon

Pennsylvania evidentiary law to challenge the testimony of Officer McKeever. Thus, this

claim is not cognizable.32 See Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. at 67-68.

b. On Direct Examination

Greene’s sixth claim is that Officer McKeever offered evidence upon questioning

from the prosecutor about the Ace Check Cashing robbery. The District Attorney argues

that this claim is procedurally defaulted because, on direct appeal, the Superior Court

found that Petitioner had failed to object to the testimony at trial. That failure constituted

a waiver of the claim.

We have reviewed the Superior Court’s opinion on direct appeal and find that the

Superior Court did, indeed, conclude Petitioner had failed to object to Officer McKeever’s

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 35 of 49
33It is true that the Superior Court went on to address the waived claim and found

that it lacked merit. See Commonwealth v. Trice, No. 01829 Philadelphia 1996, slip op.

at 10 (Pa. Super. Dec. 16, 1997). However, when a state court finds that a habeas

Petitioner has failed to comply with a state procedural rule when presenting a claim, the

habeas court may rely upon that procedural default and decline to consider the claim even

if, in an alternative holding, the state court also addresses the merits of the claim.

See Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 264 n. 10 (1989).

34Petitioner failed to number the pages of his September 30, 2005 Response. The

cause and prejudice argument he makes is contained on the fourth and fifth pages of his

Response.

36

testimony and the claim was waived for that reason. See Commonwealth v. Trice, No.

01829 Philadelphia 1996, slip op. at 10 (Pa. Super. Dec. 16, 1997). As such, the claim is

procedurally defaulted.33

In his September 30, 2005 response to the District Attorney’s response, Petitioner

has attempted to show cause for the procedural default of this claim by arguing that

prosecutorial misconduct which undermined the truth determining process of his trial as

well as ineffective assistance of counsel should constitute cause. See Petitioner’s

September 30, 2005 Response at [4]-[5].34 Although his assertion of prosecutorial

misconduct is not clear, it appears that Petitioner is simply relying upon this claim itself as

cause for his default of the claim. This argument fails however in that there must be some

independent factor which caused the procedural default in order to defeat it. See Coleman

v. Thompson, 501 U.S. at 753. Here, the claim was defaulted because Greene failed to

object to the challenged testimony at trial. See Commonwealth v. Trice, No. 01829

Philadelphia 1996, slip op. at 10 (Pa. Super. Dec. 16, 1997). He fails to explain how any

prosecutorial misconduct caused him, through his counsel, to fail to object at trial. Thus,

Petitioner’s assertion of prosecutorial misconduct cannot excuse his default of this claim.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 36 of 49
35The District Attorney has attached copies of the PCRA petition and Superior Court

brief as Exhibits C and E to its response.

36In his PCRA petition, Greene instead claimed that trial counsel was ineffective for

failing to object to statements the assigned assistant district attorney had made during the

trial. See Petitioner’s August 3, 1999 PCRA petition at 3 (Exhibit C to the District

Attorney’s response).

37

It is true that Greene’s attorney failed to object to the challenged testimony at trial

and, if the attorney’s failure to object constituted ineffective assistance of counsel, it would

constitute cause to excuse the default. See Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. at 754.

However, to constitute cause, a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel must itself be

exhausted and not procedurally defaulted. See Edwards v. Carpenter, 529 U.S. 446, 452-

53 (2000).

We have reviewed Greene’s PCRA petition and brief on appeal to the Superior

Court.35 In the PCRA petition, Petitioner did not claim that trial counsel was ineffective for

failing to object to Officer McKeever’s testimony about the Ace Check Cashing robbery.36

In his subsequent brief on appeal to the Superior Court, Greene raised only the overly

broad and general claim that trial counsel was ineffective in representing him at trial and

for failing to prepare for trial. See Petitioner’s June 26, 2003 Superior Court Brief at 10

(Exhibit E to the District Attorney’s response). Even if one were to accept that this vague

assertion contained the specific claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object

to the evidence in question, the Superior Court found Greene’s claim of ineffective

assistance to be procedurally defaulted. See Commonwealth v. Trice, No. 2663 EDA

2000, slip op. at 3 (Pa. Super. Dec. 31, 2003). It cannot then constitute cause to excuse

the procedural default. See Edwards v. Carpenter, 529 U.S. at 452-53. Further, Petitioner

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 37 of 49
37See supra pp. 15-16.

38We believe “jurists of reason” would not debate our conclusion that Petitioner’s

claim is procedurally defaulted and barred from review. Accordingly, no COA should be

granted for the claim.

38

has made no effort to provide cause for the default of this claim so he cannot excuse the

procedural default of his sixth claim. He has also failed to present any new, reliable

evidence of his innocence.37 Thus, he cannot demonstrate that the failure to review his

claim will constitute a fundamental miscarriage of justice.38

4. Detective Walsh Vouching for Demond Jackson

Greene’s seventh claim is that Detective Walsh improperly vouched for the

credibility of prosecution witness Demond Jackson while being cross-examined by a codefendant’s counsel. The District Attorney argues that this claim is not cognizable in that

it is based upon state law. See Brief in Support pp. 40-43.

Petitioner relies on Buehl v. Vaughn, 166 F.3d 163 (3d Cir. 1999) as support for this

claim. Buehl is a habeas corpus case where the court was faced with the question of

whether trial counsel had been ineffective for failing to object to the prosecutor’s

summation on the ground that the prosecutor had improperly vouched for witnesses and

expressed his personal opinion regarding Buehl’s guilt. See Buehl, 166 F.3d at 176. The

court began its adjudication of this claim by noting the federal standards concerning a

prosecutor stating his or her personal opinion regarding the credibility of witnesses or guilt

of a defendant. Id. The court then went on to apply the federal principles contained in

United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 18-19 (1985) and United States v. Gross, 961 F.2d

1097, 1108 (3d Cir. 1992) to determine that the prosecutor’s comments were not improper.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 38 of 49
39

See Buehl, 166 F.3d at 176. The court also concluded that given the weight of the

evidence against Buehl, even if the prosecutor had not made the challenged comments,

a reasonable jury would not have found Buehl innocent. Id. Thus, the court concluded that

Buehl could not establish prejudice, which was required for him to prevail on his ineffective

assistance of counsel claim. Id. 

Buehl suggests that the federal standards for a claim that a prosecutor has stated

his or her personal opinions concerning the credibility of witnesses or the guilt of a

defendant apply in habeas corpus. The District Attorney has not identified any contrary

precedent and so we conclude that the principles contained in Young and Gross can be

applied in habeas corpus cases. As this claim relies upon those principles, it is cognizable.

Petitioner argues that the rule which bars prosecutors from vouching for the

credibility of their witnesses should be extended to cover the trial testimony of a police

officer who vouches for the credibility of a prosecution witness. Petitioner’s claim was

raised on direct appeal. The Superior Court adjudicated the claim as follows:

Our review of the testimony in question indicates that Detective

Walsh was merely responding to questions by defense counsel

asking him to explain why Jackson was dismissed as a

suspect in the case. Detective Walsh answered that, based

upon his investigation, he deemed the information provided by

Jackson to be truthful. In any event, the appellants did not

suffer prejudice as a result of the detective’s comments

because the trial court clearly instructed the jury that the

detective’s testimony was not to be viewed as a comment on

Jackson’s truthfulness. The law presumes that juries follow a

court’s instructions. Commonwealth v. English, --- Pa. --- , 699

A.2d 710 (1997); Commonwealth v. LaCava, 542 Pa. 160, 666

A.2d 221 (1995); Commonwealth v. Baker 531 Pa. 541, 614

A.2d 663 (1992). Detective Walsh’s remarks could not have

affected the outcome of the appellants’ trial.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 39 of 49
39The crucial fact which supports the Superior Court’s second explanation is the trial

court’s instruction to the jury that Detective Walsh’s testimony not be viewed as a comment

on Demond Jackson’s truthfulness. Petitioner does not argue that the Superior Court’s

representation concerning the trial court’s instruction was unreasonable in light of the

record before the Superior Court, nor does he attempt to rebut the required presumption

that the Superior Court accurately stated the trial court’s instruction. Thus, he cannot be

granted habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2) and we must honor the presumption

of correctness provided by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1). Further, we have reviewed the trial

transcript of Detective Walsh’s testimony. It is clear that, after Detective Walsh expressed

his opinion concerning Demond Jackson’s truthfulness, the trial court instructed the jury

that they were to disregard Detective Walsh’s opinion because they, not Detective Walsh,

were to decide whether Demond Jackson was truthful. (N.T. 3/6/96 at 88). For all these

reasons, the only basis for Petitioner to be granted habeas relief on his claim is for him to

show that the Superior Court’s legal conclusion was contrary to or an unreasonable

application of Supreme Court precedent.

40

Commonwealth v. Trice, No. 01829 Philadelphia 1996, slip op. at 9-10 (Pa. Super. Dec.

16, 1997). The Superior Court’s adjudication of the claim was based upon two, separate

grounds. First, the court took the position that Detective Walsh made no improper remarks

because he was simply responding to questions posed to him by an attorney representing

one of Greene’s co-defendants. Second, the court noted that the trial court instructed the

jury that they were not to view Detective Walsh’s testimony as a comment on Demond

Jackson’s truthfulness. The Superior Court then noted that juries were presumed to follow

their instructions and, based on this presumption, Petitioner’s claim could not succeed. We

will focus on the Superior Court’s second explanation for its adjudication of Greene’s claim,

in that it is not based upon any disputed facts.39 We conclude that this determination is not

contrary to nor an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent.

The Superior Court’s presumption that juries follow the instructions given by the trial

court is consistent with Supreme Court precedent. See Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S.

200, 206-07 (1987) (collecting numerous cases where the Supreme Court has presumed

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 40 of 49
40We believe “jurists of reason” would not debate our application of the AEDPA

standard of review to this claim. Accordingly, a COA should not be granted for the claim.

41

that a jury would follow its instructions to disregard evidence or use evidence for a limited

purpose). Indeed, in Marsh, the Court characterized the presumption as being “almost

invariable.” Id. at 206. The Court noted that there was a narrow exception to the

presumption limited to facially incriminating confessions of non-testifying co-defendants.

Id. at 207. 

This claim does not involve such evidence. Rather, it involves a statement Detective

Walsh made about a witness who testified on behalf of the prosecution. The Superior

Court’s decision to rely upon the presumption that juries follow the Court’s instructions

does not contradict Supreme Court precedent. Thus, its adjudication of Petitioner’s claim

was neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent and

so he cannot obtain habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). In addition, Greene does

not challenge the Superior Court’s adjudication of his claim as being unreasonable in light

of the facts presented to the Court. Therefore, 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2) provides no basis

to afford him habeas relief.40

5. Prosecutorial Misconduct During Closing Argument

Greene’s eighth claim is that, during closing argument, the prosecutor mentioned

the confessions of co-defendants Finney and Womack and gestured to all the defendants

to indicate they were all involved in the charged crimes. See Brief in Support, pp. 44-47.

Petitioner asserts that the prosecutor’s actions effectively subverted the trial court’s

ordered redaction of the confessions of co-defendants Finney and Womack. 

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 41 of 49
42

During her closing argument, the prosecutor summarized the evidence produced

at trial. She specifically discussed evidence that showed the defendants had agreed to

commit a robbery. (N.T. 3/11/95 at 64). In the course of doing so, she referred to the

redacted confession of co-defendant Finney:

Now, you know also by another piece of evidence that there

has been an agreement, that there was going to be a robbery,

because what Atil Finney says in his statement is he agreed

with the others to get paid. When he was in that car with the

other people. He agreed to get paid. That’s another piece of

evidence that the group had planned to in fact commit this

robbery.

Id. at 64-65. 

She then discussed the path the robbers took to the scene of the crime. Id. at 65.

In the course of doing so, she referred to the redacted confession of co-defendant

Womack:

Now, you have to understand, jurors, that that is proven by

attending circumstances. I mean, the way they act, what they

knew and the fact that they immediately went to that location

and they all got out. So that’s the first piece of evidence that

they had that they undertook the robbery, and remember, that

in Womack – in defendant Womack’s statement he in fact said

they go over to the grocery store. 

Id. at 65-66. At that point, an objection was lodged and the matter was discussed out of

the presence of the jury. Id. at 66. During the discussion, counsel for co-defendant

Abdullah explained that the prosecutor had improperly attempted to prompt the jurors to

use the confessions of co-defendants Finney and Womack against the other defendants.

Id. at 66-67. Counsel also noted that the prosecutor had pointed and gestured to the

defendants while making her argument. Id. at 67. In light of what the prosecutor had

done, the trial court decided that a curative instruction would be given. Id. at 68.

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 42 of 49
43

Petitioner’s counsel then asked for a mistrial based on the prosecutor’s argument but the

trial judge denied the motion. Id. Once back in the presence of the jury, the trial court

instructed the jury that an out-of-court statement can only be used against the person who

makes the statement, it cannot be used against anyone else. Id. at 69.

Petitioner’s claim was raised on direct appeal. The Superior Court adjudicated the

claim as follows:

Appellants next claim that the prosecutor, during closing

arguments, pointed at them and the other co-defendants and

said that the confessions of their non-testifying co-defendants

corroborated their guilt. Consistent with the manner in which

the confessions/statements were redacted, the prosecutor did

not mention names in her comments at issue; rather, she used

the words “others,” “other people,” and “they.” See

Washington, [692 A.2d 1018 (Pa. 1997)] (prosecutor’s use of

the word “they” while discussing a co-defendant’s confession

was insufficient to prejudice the jury against appellant); Brooks,

[660 A.2d 609, 613 (Pa. Super. 1995)] (the practice of

substituting pronouns or “other persons” for specific names

has been approved by our courts). Moreover, any alleged

harm was alleviated by the cautionary instructions given by the

trial court. It is presumed that the jury followed this instruction.

English, [699 A.2d 710 (Pa. 1997)]; LaCava, [666 A.2d 221

(Pa. 1995)]; Baker, [614 A.2d 663 (Pa. 1992)].

Commonwealth v. Trice, No. 01829 Philadelphia 1996, slip op. at 10-11 (Pa. Super. Dec.

16 1997). 

The Superior Court again relied upon the usual presumption that jurors follow the

cautionary instructions given by the trial court. This presumption is subject only to the

narrow exception for facially incriminating confessions by a co-defendant who does not

testify at the non-confessing defendant’s trial and is well grounded in United States

Supreme Court precedent. See Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. at 206-207. As we

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 43 of 49
41We believe “jurists of reason” would not debate our application of the AEDPA

standard of review to this claim. Accordingly, a COA should not be granted for the claim.

44

explained when discussing Petitioner’s fourth claim, the redacted confessions of codefendants Finney and Womack do not incriminate Petitioner on their face. Thus, it can

be presumed that the jury followed the trial court’s limiting instruction. Id. at 208-09, 211.

In this eighth claim, Petitioner argues that the prosecutor attempted to undermine

the salutary effect of the trial court’s redaction of the confessions and the trial court’s

limiting instructions by her actions during closing argument. Neither Bruton nor

Marsh speak to such an effort, nor does any other Supreme Court opinion decided before

the Superior Court’s adjudication of Greene’s claim. Since there is no United States

Supreme Court precedent which addresses such a claim, the Superior Court’s adjudication

cannot be contrary to Supreme Court precedent. See Fischetti v. Johnson, 384 F.3d 140,

150 (3d Cir. 2004) (noting that a state court adjudication of a claim cannot be contrary to

Supreme Court precedent when there is a lack of Supreme Court precedent dealing with

the precise issue raised by the claim). Further, given the lack of clearly established

Supreme Court precedent and in light of the general presumption that jurors do follow their

instructions, it was reasonable for the Superior Court to conclude that the jury would follow

these instructions given, particularly when the trial court repeated these instructions just

after the prosecutor made the arguments which are claimed to undermine the instructions.

For these reasons, Petitioner cannot obtain habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1).

In addition, Greene does not challenge the Superior Court’s adjudication of his claim as

being unreasonable in light of the facts presented to the Superior Court. Thus, 28 U.S.C.

§ 2254(d)(2) also provides no basis to afford him habeas relief.41

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 44 of 49
42Since all of Petitioner’s ineffective assistance claims are not cognizable or

procedurally defaulted, they will not be reviewed on their merits. Were we to review the

claims on their merits, they would be evaluated against the two-part test announced in

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). For the first part of the test, Petitioner

would have to establish that counsel’s representation “fell below objective standard of

reasonableness.” Id. at 688. For the second part, he would have to demonstrate that

counsel’s error or omission prejudiced him. Id. at 691-92.

43We believe “jurists of reason” would not debate this conclusion. Accordingly, a

COA should not be granted for this claim.

45

G. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims

Greene has raised three claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. He claims that

all of his prior counsel were ineffective for failing to obtain a complete trial transcript. He

also claims that his trial and direct appeal counsel was ineffective because he failed to

prepare for trial or investigate the case. Finally, he claims his PCRA counsel was

ineffective for failing to conduct an investigation which would have led him to conclude that

trial and direct appellate counsel had been ineffective.

We discuss each claim on an issue-by-issue basis within. We find that each claim

is either not cognizable or procedurally defaulted. We also find that Greene has not

established cause and prejudice or fundamental miscarriage of justice such as to excuse

the default.42

1. Failure to Obtain a Complete Trial Transcript

Petitioner argues that all prior counsel were ineffective for failing to obtain a

complete trial transcript. To the extent that he seeks to challenge the performance of

PCRA counsel, such a claim is expressly barred as a ground for relief by the habeas

statute. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(i). Therefore, the claim is not cognizable.43

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 45 of 49
44The District Attorney has attached copies of the Petitioner’s 1999 PCRA petition

and his subsequent brief on appeal to the Superior Court as Exhibits C and E to its

response.

46

As for Petitioner’s challenge to trial and direct appellate counsel’s performance for

failing to obtain a complete trial transcript, the District Attorney argues that the claim was

never presented in the state courts. The record reveals that Greene was represented by

the same attorney at trial and on direct appeal. For this reason, his first opportunity to raise

a claim that his trial and direct appellate counsel was ineffective would have been during

PCRA proceedings. We have reviewed the PCRA petition Greene filed and the brief he

filed in the Superior Court to appeal the denial of PCRA relief.44 He did not claim there that

trial and direct appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to obtain a complete trial

transcript. The claim has therefore not been exhausted in Pennsylvania’s courts. If

Greene is now barred by state law from exhausting the claim, it is procedurally defaulted.

See Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. at 735 n.1.

Petitioner could attempt to exhaust his claim by filing a new PCRA petition. Were

he to do so, he would be faced with the obstacle of the PCRA statute of limitations. The

PCRA has a one year statute of limitations which ordinarily begins to run at the time a

conviction becomes final on direct appeal. 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1). While there are

exceptions which would excuse the late filing of a PCRA petition, those exceptions apply

only when governmental interference has prevented the defendant from filing his petition

in a timely manner, when the defendant has discovered new evidence or when the

defendant’s claim relies upon a new constitutional right which has been held to be

retroactively applicable by the court (United States Supreme Court or Supreme Court of

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 46 of 49
45We are aware that Greene filed a new PCRA petition on August 6, 2004. The

District Attorney attached a copy of the new PCRA petition as Exhibit G to her response.

In the new PCRA petition, Greene did not raise the instant claim. Instead, he raised a

claim based upon the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Crawford v.

Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004).

46As we have explained supra at pp. 15-16 with respect to Greene’s defaulted claim

involving the alleged deprivation of an effective appeal, he has asserted his innocence.

However, an assertion of innocence without new, reliable evidence to support it is

insufficient to satisfy the Schlup v. Delo standard.

47

Pennsylvania) announcing the new right. 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(i)-(iii). This claim

does not implicate any of these exceptions. Thus, for this claim, the PCRA statute of

limitations began to run on the date his conviction became final. 

On direct appeal, Petitioner was initially granted allowance of appeal by the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania but, on April 29, 1999, the court dismissed the appeal as

improvidently granted. Greene did not thereafter seek certiorari from the United States

Supreme Court. The time for him to seek certiorari expired 90 days after the Supreme

Court of Pennsylvania dismissed his appeal. See Sup. Ct. R. 13(1). On that day, July 28,

1999, his conviction became final for purposes of the PCRA statute of limitations. See 42

Pa. C.S.A. § 9545(b)(3). The PCRA statute of limitations expired one year later on July 28,

2000. Thus, it is clear that Greene cannot timely file a new PCRA petition to raise his

claim.

45 Because the PCRA statute of limitations prevents him from exhausting his claim,

it is procedurally defaulted. See Keller v. Larkins, 251 F.3d 408, 415 (3d Cir. 2001).

Greene has not argued that any cause and prejudice will excuse the default of his

claim. He has also failed to present any, new reliable evidence of his innocence.46 Thus,

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 47 of 49
47We believe that “jurists of reason” would not debate our conclusion that

Petitioner’s claim is procedurally defaulted and barred from review. Accordingly, no COA

should be granted for the claim.

48See supra n. 45.

49We believe that “jurists of reason” would not debate our conclusion that

Petitioner’s claim is procedurally defaulted and barred from review. Accordingly, no COA

should be granted for the claim.

48

he cannot demonstrate that the failure to consider this claim will result in a fundamental

miscarriage of justice.47 See Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. at 316-17, 324.

2. Failure to Prepare for Trial or Investigate the Case

Petitioner’s tenth claim is that trial and direct appellate counsel was ineffective

because he failed to prepare for trial or investigate the case. This claim was raised in the

PCRA petition and appeal. On appeal, the Superior Court found that it was waived

because as it was not developed with any specificity. See Commonwealth v. Trice, No.

2663 EDA 2000, slip op. at 3 (Pa. Super. Dec. 31, 2003) (citing Commonwealth v. Farmer,

758 A.2d 173, 180-81 (Pa. Super. 2000)). It is now therefore procedurally defaulted.

Petitioner has not argued that any cause and prejudice will excuse the default of this

claim. He has also failed to present any, reliable new evidence of his innocence.48 Thus,

he cannot demonstrate that the failure to consider his claim will result in a fundamental

miscarriage of justice.49 See Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. at 316-17, 324.

3. PCRA Counsel’s Failure to Investigate

Greene’s eleventh claim is that PCRA counsel was ineffective for failing to conduct

an investigation which would have caused him to conclude that trial and direct appellate

counsel had been ineffective. The habeas statute expressly bars any claim that PCRA

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 48 of 49
50We believe that “jurists of reason” would not debate this conclusion. Accordingly,

a COA should not be granted for this claim.

counsel was ineffective from being a basis for granting habeas relief. See 28 U.S.C. §

2254(i). Thus, this claim is not cognizable.50

For the foregoing reasons, the court’s recommendation follows.

RECOMMENDATION

AND NOW, this 26th day of January, 2006, it is respectfully RECOMMENDED that

the petition for a writ of habeas corpus be DISMISSED. It is FURTHER RECOMMENDED

that a CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY should ISSUE with respect to Petitioner’s Sixth

Amendment Confrontation Clause claim concerning the redacted confessions of his codefendants Atil Finney and Gregory Womack. 

/s/ David R. Strawbridge 

DAVID R. STRAWBRIDGE

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 2:04-cv-05200-JHS Document 18 Filed 01/26/06 Page 49 of 49