Source: https://www.legalcrystal.com/case/100671/townsend-vs-sain
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 14:22:00+00:00

Document:
Held: On the record in this case, the District Court erred in denying a writ of habeas corpus without a plenary evidentiary hearing. Pp. 372 U. S. 295 -322.
1. The petition for habeas corpus alleged a deprivation of constitutional rights, because petitioner's confession was constitutionally inadmissible if it was adduced by police questioning during a period when petitioner's will was overborne by a drug having the properties of a "truth serum." Pp. 372 U. S. 307 -309.
2. When an application by a state prisoner to a Federal Court for a writ of habeas corpus alleges facts which, if proved, would entitle him to relief, the Federal Court to which the application is made has the power to receive evidence and try the facts anew. Pp. 372 U. S. 310 -312.
dispute were not resolved in the state hearing, either at the time of the trial or in a collateral proceeding; (2) the state factual determination is not fairly supported by the record as a whole; (3) the factfinding procedure employed by the State Court was not adequate to afford a full and fair hearing; (4) there is a substantial allegation of newly discovered evidence; (5) the material facts were not adequately developed at the state court hearing; or (6) for any reason it appears that the state trier of fact did not afford the applicant a full and fair fact hearing. Pp. 372 U. S. 312 -318.
(a) When the state trier of fact has made no express findings, the District Court must hold an evidentiary hearing if the State Court did not decide the issues of fact tendered to it, if the State Court applied an incorrect standard of constitutional law, or if, for any other reason, the District Court is unable to reconstruct the relevant findings of the state trier of fact. Pp. 372 U. S. 313 -316.
(b) The Federal District Court must carefully scrutinize the state court record in order to determine whether the factual determinations of the State Court are fairly supported by the record. P. 372 U. S. 316 .
(c) Even if all the relevant facts were presented in the state court hearing, it is the Federal Judge's duty to disregard the state findings and take evidence anew if the procedure employed by the State Court appears to be seriously inadequate for the ascertainment of the truth. P. 372 U. S. 316 .
(d) Where newly discovered evidence which could not reasonably have been presented to the State Court is alleged, the Federal Court must grant an evidentiary hearing, unless the allegation of newly discovered evidence is irrelevant, frivolous or incredible. P. 372 U. S. 317 .
(e) If, for any reason not attributable to the inexcusable neglect of the applicant, evidence crucial to the adequate consideration of his constitutional claim was not developed at the state hearing, the Federal Court must grant an evidentiary hearing. P. 372 U. S. 317 .
(f) The duty to try the facts anew exists in every case in which the State Court has not, after a full hearing, reliably found the relevant facts. Pp. 372 U. S. 317 -318.
4. In all other cases where the material facts are in dispute, the holding of an evidentiary hearing is in the discretion of the Federal District Judge. P. 372 U. S. 318 .
5. Where the State Court has reliably found the relevant facts, the Federal District Judge may defer to the State Court's findings of fact, but he may not defer to the State Court's findings of law. P. 372 U. S. 318 .
6. A District Court sitting in habeas corpus has power to compel production of the complete state court record or to hold an evidentiary hearing forthwith without compelling its production. Pp. 372 U. S. 318 -319.
7. It rests largely with the Federal District Judges to give practical form to the above principles and to make proper accommodation between the competing factors involved. P. 372 U. S. 319 .
8. In this case, the Court of Appeals erred in holding that, on habeas corpus, "the district court's inquiry is limited to a study of the undisputed portions of the record." Pp. 372 U. S. 319 -320.
9. In the circumstances of this case, the District Judge should have held an evidentiary hearing, because he could not reconstruct the relevant findings of the state trier of fact and because the characterization of the drug administered as a "truth serum" was not brought out at the state court hearing. Pp. 372 U. S. 320 -322.
10. The state court record is competent evidence at the District Court hearing, and either the petitioner or the State may rely solely upon the evidence contained in that record. P. 372 U. S. 322 .
state court record, a plenary hearing was required. 359 U. S. 64 .
On the remand, the District Court held no hearing, and dismissed the petition, finding only that "Justice would not be served by ordering a full hearing or by awarding any or all of [the] relief sought by Petitioner." The judge stated that he was satisfied from the state court records before him that the decision of the state courts holding the challenged confession to have been freely and voluntarily given by petitioner was correct, and that there had been no denial of federal due process of law. On appeal, the Court of Appeals concluded that, "[o]n habeas corpus, the district court's inquiry is limited to a study of the undisputed portions of the record," and that the undisputed portions of this record showed no deprivation of constitutional rights. 276 F.2d 324, 329. We granted certiorari to determine whether the courts below had correctly determined and applied the standards governing hearings in federal habeas corpus. 365 U. S. 866 . The case was first argued during the October Term 1961. Two of the Justices were unable to participate in a decision, and we subsequently ordered it reargued. 369 U.S. 834. We now have it before us for decision.
Court has usually so stated the test. See, e.g., Stroble v. California, 343 U. S. 181 , 343 U. S. 190 : "If the confession which petitioner made . . . was, in fact, involuntary, the conviction cannot stand. . . ." And in Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U. S. 199 , we held irrelevant the absence of evidence of improper purpose on the part of the questioning officers. There, the evidence indicated that the interrogating officers thought the defendant sane when he confessed, but we judged the confession inadmissible because the probability was that the defendant was, in fact, insane at the time.
we have but touched upon it. [ Footnote 7 ] We granted certiorari in the 1959 Term to consider the question, but ultimately disposed of the case on a more immediate ground. Rogers v. Richmond, 365 U. S. 534 , 365 U. S. 540 . It has become apparent that the opinions in Brown v. Allen, supra, do not provide answers for all aspects of the hearing problem for the lower federal courts, which have reached widely divergent, in fact, often irreconcilable, results. [ Footnote 8 ] We mean to express no opinion on the correctness of particular decisions. But we think that it is appropriate at this time to elaborate the considerations which ought properly to govern the grant or denial of evidentiary hearings in federal habeas corpus proceedings.
v. Noia, post, p. 372 U. S. 391 , and need not be repeated here. We pointed out there that the historic conception of the writ, anchored in the ancient common law and in our Constitution as an efficacious and imperative remedy for detentions of fundamental illegality, has remained constant to the present day. We pointed out, too, that the Act of February 5, 1867, c. 28, § 1, 14 Stat. 385-386, which in extending the federal writ to state prisoners described the power of the federal courts to take testimony and determine the facts de novo in the largest terms, restated what apparently was the common law understanding. Fay v. Noia, post, p. 372 U. S. 416 , n. 27. The hearing provisions of the 1867 Act remain substantially unchanged in the present codification. 28 U.S.C. § 2243. In construing the mandate of Congress, so plainly designed to afford a trial-type proceeding in federal court for state prisoners aggrieved by unconstitutional detentions, this Court has consistently upheld the power of the federal courts on habeas corpus to take evidence relevant to claims of such detention.
"Since Frank v. Mangum, 237 U. S. 309 , 237 U. S. 331 , this Court has recognized that habeas corpus in the federal courts by one convicted of a criminal offense is a proper procedure 'to safeguard the liberty of all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States against infringement through any violation of the Constitution,' even though the events which were alleged to infringe did not appear upon the face of the record of his conviction."
Hawk v. Olson, 326 U. S. 271 , 326 U. S. 274 . Brown v. Allen and numerous other cases have recognized this.
channels of review of criminal judgments, the very gravest allegations. State prisoners are entitled to relief on federal habeas corpus only upon proving that their detention violates the fundamental liberties of the person, safeguarded against state action by the Federal Constitution. Simply because detention so obtained is intolerable, the opportunity for redress, which presupposes the opportunity to be heard, to argue and present evidence, must never be totally foreclosed. See Frank v. Mangum, 237 U. S. 309 , 237 U. S. 345 -350 (dissenting opinion of Mr. Justice Holmes). It is the typical, not the rare, case in which constitutional claims turn upon the resolution of contested factual issues. Thus, a narrow view of the hearing power would totally subvert Congress' specific aim in passing the Act of February 5, 1867, of affording state prisoners a forum in the federal trial courts for the determination of claims of detention in violation of the Constitution. The language of Congress, the history of the writ, the decisions of this Court, all make clear that the power of inquiry on federal habeas corpus is plenary. Therefore, where an applicant for a writ of habeas corpus alleges facts which, if proved, would entitle him to relief, the federal court to which the application is made has the power to receive evidence and try the facts anew.
constitutional law are such that we think the district judge may, in the ordinary case in which there has been no articulation, properly assume that the state trier of fact applied correct standards of federal law to the facts, in the absence of evidence, such as was present in Rogers v. Richmond, that there is reason to suspect that an incorrect standard was, in fact, applied. [ Footnote 10 ] Thus, if third-degree methods of obtaining a confession are alleged and the state court refused to exclude the confession from evidence, the district judge may assume that the state trier found the facts against the petitioner, the law being, of course, that third-degree methods necessarily produce a coerced confession.
(2) This Court has consistently held that state factual determinations not fairly supported by the record cannot be conclusive of federal rights. Fiske v. Kansas, 274 U. S. 380 , 274 U. S. 385 ; Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U. S. 199 , 361 U. S. 208 -209. Where the fundamental liberties of the person are claimed to have been infringed, we carefully scrutinize the state court record. See, e.g., Blackburn v. Alabama, supra; Moore v. Michigan, 355 U. S. 155 . The duty of the Federal District Court on habeas is no less exacting.
Third. A District Court sitting in habeas corpus clearly has the power to compel production of the complete state court record. Ordinarily such a record -- including the transcript of testimony (or, if unavailable, some adequate substitute such as a narrative record), the pleadings, court opinions, and other pertinent documents -- is indispensable to determining whether the habeas applicant received a full and fair state court evidentiary hearing resulting in reliable findings. See United States ex rel. Jennings v. Ragan, 358 U. S. 276 ; Townsend v. Sain, 359 U. S. 64 . Of course, if, because no record can be obtained, the district judge has no way of determining whether a full and fair hearing which resulted in findings of relevant fact was vouchsafed, he must hold one. So also, there may be cases in which it is more convenient for the district judge to hold an evidentiary hearing forthwith, rather than compel production of the record. I t is clear that he has the power to do so.
On the remand it would not, of course, be sufficient for the District Court merely to hear new evidence and to read the state court record. Where an unresolved factual dispute exists, demeanor evidence is a significant factor in adjudging credibility. And questions of credibility, of course, are basic to resolution of conflicts in testimony. To be sure, the state court record is competent evidence, [ Footnote 14 ] and either party may choose to rely solely upon the evidence contained in that record, but the petitioner, and the State, must be given the opportunity to present other testimonial and documentary evidence relevant to the disputed issues. This was not done here.
Reck v. Pate, 367 U. S. 433 , 367 U. S. 440 .
Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U. S. 199 . 361 U. S. 208 .
By "issues of fact," we mean to refer to what are termed basic, primary, or historical facts: facts "in the sense of a recital of external events and the credibility of their narrators. . . ." Brown v. Allen, 344 U. S. 443 , 344 U. S. 506 (opinion of Mr. Justice Frankfurter). So-called mixed questions of fact and law, which require the application of a legal standard to the historical fact determinations, are not facts in this sense.
See Thomas v. Arizona, 356 U. S. 390 ; Rogers v. Richmond, 357 U. S. 220 (denial of certiorari with accompanying statement); United States ex rel. Jennings v. Ragen, 358 U. S. 276 (per curiam); Townsend v. Sain, 359 U. S. 64 (per curiam) (vacating judgment on authority of Jennings v. Ragen, supra ).
See, e.g., United States ex rel. Tillery v. Cavell, 294 F.2d 12 (C.A.3d Cir.); Schlette v. People, 284 F.2d 827 (C.A. 9th Cir.); Bolling v. Smyth, 281 F.2d 192 (C.A.4th Cir.); Chavez v. Dickson, 280 F.2d 727 (C.A. 9th Cir.); Gay v. Graham, 269 F.2d 482 (C.A. 10th Cir.); United States ex rel. Rogers v. Richmond, 252 F.2d 807 (C.A.2d Cir.), cert. denied with accompanying statement, 357 U. S. 220 ; United States ex rel. Alvarez v. Murphy, 246 F.2d 871 (C.A.2d Cir.); Tyler v. Pepersack, 235 F.2d 29 (C.A.4th Cir.); Cranor v. Gonzales, 226 F.2d 83 (C.A. 9th Cir.); United States ex rel. De Vita v. McCorkle, 216 F.2d 743 (C.A.3d Cir.). See also Note, Habeas Corpus: Developments Since Brown v. Allen: A Survey and Analysis, 53 Nw.U.L.Rev. 765; Comment, Federal Habeas Corpus Review of State Convictions: An Interplay of Appellate Ambiguity and District Court Discretion, 68 Yale L.J. 98.
The existence of the exhaustion of state remedies requirement (announced in Ex parte Royall, 117 U. S. 241 , and now codified in 28 U.S.C. § 2254) lends support to the view that a federal hearing is not always required. It presupposes that the State's adjudication of the constitutional issue can be of aid to the federal court sitting in habeas corpus.
If, as suggested by my Brother STEWART, these instructions are taken to evidence the exclusionary standard applied by the trial judge in ruling on the petitioner's motion to suppress, they reflect error of constitutional dimension, as does the standard of admissibility contained in the affirming opinion of the Illinois Supreme Court. While the appellate court, as pointed out in the opinion of THE CHIEF JUSTICE, see ante, pp. 372 U. S. 319 -321, appears to have adopted a test of "coherency" to measure the admissibility of the confession, the trial court seemingly concluded that inducement of amnesia was a prerequisite to disregard of the confession. Both standards, whether or not intended to incorporate similar elements, fail to conform to the requisite test.
Brown v. Allen, 344 U. S. 443 , 344 U. S. 501 -502 (separate opinion of Mr. Justice Frankfurter).
* The petitioner's initial resistance to admitting guilt, his sudden change in attitude, and the veritable flood of confessions succeeding immediately upon administration of the drug to him, see ante, pp. 372 U. S. 306 -307, all indicate the real possibility that his will was so overborne. Moreover, the reliability of a number of these confessions is seriously impaired. See ibid.
Ante, p. 372 U. S. 312 . But the Court rightly says that "[i]t would be unwise to overly particularize this test," and I think that, in attempting to erect detailed hearing standards for the myriad situations presented by federal habeas corpus applications, the Court disregards its own wise admonition.
More fundamentally, the enunciation of an elaborate set of standards governing habeas corpus hearings is in no sense required, or even invited, in order to decide the case before us, and the many pages of the Court's opinion which set these standards forth cannot, therefore, be justified even in terms of the normal function of dictum. The reasons for the rule against advisory opinions which purport to decide questions not actually in issue are too well established to need repeating at this late date. See, e.g., Marine Cooks v. Panama S.S. Co., 362 U. S. 365 , 362 U. S. 368 , n. 5; Machinists Local v. Labor Board, 362 U. S. 411 , 362 U. S. 415 , n. 5. I regard these reasons as peculiarly persuasive in the present context. We should not try to hedge in with inflexible rules what is essentially an extraordinary writ, designed to do justice in extraordinary and often unpredictable situations.
Much of the evidence which had been presented to the judge alone was subsequently bought before the jury by defense counsel in an attempt to diminish the weight to be given to the confession. Additional evidence was also adduced by the prosecution, including testimony by another licensed physician, who made clear that hyoscine was identical with scopolamine. The case was submitted to the jury under unexceptionable instructions, [ Footnote 2/3 ] and the petitioner was convicted and sentenced to death. The Illinois Supreme Court, after reviewing in detail the evidence bearing on the voluntariness of the confession, affirmed the conviction. 11 Ill.2d 30, 141 N.E.2d 729. This Court denied certiorari, 355 U.S. 850; rehearing denied, 355 U.S. 886.
"A study of our opinion on [the original appeal] discloses that all of the evidence with respect to the injection of hyoscine and phenobarbital was carefully considered by us in resolving the issue of the validity of petitioner's confession. ( People vs.
not be proper. For the record of the state proceedings clearly shows that the petitioner received a full and fair hearing as to the factual foundation for his constitutional claim -- i.e., as to the properties of the drug which had been administered to him and the circumstances surrounding his confession. A total of 3 medical experts and 17 lay witnesses testified. Their testimony was in conflict. The trial court determined upon this conflicting evidence that there was no factual basis for the petitioner's claim that his confession had been involuntary. There is nothing whatever in the record to support an inference that the trial court did not scrupulously apply a completely correct constitutional standard in determining that the confession was admissible. [ Footnote 2/4 ] The trial court's determination was fully reviewed by the Supreme Court of Illinois on appeal, and reviewed again in state post-conviction proceedings. To be sure, no witness at the trial used the phrase "truth serum" -- a phrase which has no precise medical or scientific meaning. Yet I cannot but agree with the Supreme Court of Illinois that the mere fact that a drug may be known by more than one name hardly presents a constitutional issue.
See Walker v. Johnston, 312 U. S. 275 , 312 U. S. 283 -284. (Emphasis added.) The statute was later revised so that it now provides that "The court shall summarily hear and determine the facts, and dispose of the matter as law and justice require." The Revisers' notes indicate that the change was one of "phraseology," and not substance.
Where the state court has reliably found facts relevant to any issue, the district judge in such a hearing should, of course, give appropriate deference to such findings. See ante, p. 372 U. S. 318 .
See pp. 372 U. S. 330 -331, supra.

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