UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

SOUTHERN DIVISION

DALAYNARD D. JACKSON,

Petitioner,

Civil No. 08-15023

v. Honorable David M. Lawson

RAYMOND BOOKER,

Respondent.

_______________________________/

OPINION AND ORDER OF SUMMARY DISMISSAL

The petitioner, Dalaynard D. Jackson, a state prisoner currently confined at the Ryan

Correctional Facility in Detroit, Michigan, has filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to

28 U.S.C. § 2254 raising the denial of a speedy trial as his sole claim. The Court finds that the

petitioner’s claim is waived by his unconditional guilty plea. The Court, therefore, will deny the

petition for writ of habeas corpus.

I.

The petitioner pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery, assault with intent to rob while

armed, felon in possession of a firearm, and four counts of possession of a firearm during the

commission of a felony (felony firearm) in the Macomb County, Michigan circuit court on

November 1, 2006. He was sentenced to concurrent terms of 11 years, three months to 25 years

imprisonment on the armed robbery and assault convictions, a concurrent prison term of one to five

years on the felon in possession conviction, and a consecutive prison term of two years on the felony

firearm conviction on December 6, 2006. The petitioner filed a delayed application for leave to

appeal in the Michigan Court of Appeals, which was denied. See People v. Jackson, No. 278935

(Mich. Ct. App. Aug. 1, 2007) (unpublished). The Michigan Supreme Court denied the petitioner’s

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subsequent application for leave to appeal. See People v. Jackson, 480 Mich. 991, 742 N.W.2d 126

(2007). The petitioner signed and dated his habeas petition on December 2, 2008. His sole claim

concerns an alleged speedy trial violation. This claim was exhausted in the state courts.

II.

Promptly after the filing of a petition for habeas corpus, the Court must undertake a

preliminary review of the petition to determine whether “it plainly appears from the face of the

petition and any exhibits annexed to it that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court.”

Rule 4, Rules Governing § 2254 Cases; see also 28 U.S.C. § 2243. If, after preliminary

consideration, the Court determines that the petitioner is not entitled to relief, the Court must

summarily dismiss the petition. Id., see also Allen v. Perini, 424 F.2d 134, 141 (6th Cir. 1970)

(district court has the duty to “screen out” petitions that lack merit on their face). A federal district

court is authorized summarily to dismiss a habeas corpus petition if it plainly appears from the face

of the petition and any attached exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to federal habeas relief.

See McFarland v. Scott, 512 U.S. 849, 856 (1994); Carson v. Burke, 178 F.3d 434, 436 (6th Cir.

1999); Rules Governing § 2254 Cases, Rule 4, 28 U.S.C. foll. § 2254.

After undertaking the preliminary review required by Rule 4, the Court concludes that the

petition must be denied. It is well established that an unconditional guilty plea constitutes a waiver

of all pre-plea, non-jurisdictional constitutional deprivations. See Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S.

258, 267 (1973); Kowalak v. United States, 645 F.2d 534, 537 (6th Cir. 1981). This waiver extends

to alleged speedy trial violations. See Howard v. White, 76 Fed. Appx. 52, 53 (6th Cir. 2003)

(petitioner waived speedy trial claim with his unconditional nolo contendere plea because the right

to a speedy trial is not a jurisdictional issue); Shanks v. Wolfenbarger, 387 F. Supp. 2d 740, 747

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(E.D. Mich. 2005); see also United States v. Pickett, 941 F.2d 411, 416 (6th Cir. 1991) (defendant’s

failure to enter conditional guilty plea prevented him from raising speedy trial and due process

challenges on direct appeal of his convictions). In his pleadings, the petitioner does not claim that

he entered a conditional guilty plea; instead he indicates that his plea was unconditional. See Brief

in Support of Petition, pp. 7-9. Consequently, he has waived his speedy trial claim as a matter of

well-settled federal law. His arguments to the contrary are without merit. The petition therefore

must be denied.

III.

Because the petitioner waived in state court the only claim he raises in his petition, the Court

concludes that the petitioner is not entitled to federal habeas relief.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the petition for writ of habeas corpus is DENIED.

s/David M. Lawson 

DAVID M. LAWSON

United States District Judge

Dated: December 31, 2008

PROOF OF SERVICE

The undersigned certifies that a copy of the foregoing order was served

upon each attorney or party of record herein by electronic means or first

class U.S. mail on December 31, 2008.

s/Susan K. Pinkowski 

SUSAN K. PINKOWSKI

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