Source: http://www.chanrobles.com/usa/us_supremecourt/507/619/case.php
Timestamp: 2019-08-19 05:58:15
Document Index: 7440368

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2254', '§2111', '§391', '§391', '§ 391', '§ 2111', '§2111', '§ 2111', '§ 2255']

BRECHTv. ABRAHAMSON,SUPERINTENDEN~ DODGE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION 507 U.S. 619 - US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
(a) The State's references to Brecht's post-Miranda silence violated Doyle. The Doyle rule rests on the Miranda warnings' implicit assurance that a suspect's silence will not be used against him, and on the fundamental unfairness of using postwarning silence to impeach an explanation subsequently offered at trial. It is conceivable that, once Brecht was given his warnings, he decided to stand on his right to remain silent because he believed his silence would not be used against him at trial. The prosecution's references to his pre-Miranda silencecralaw
(d) The Kotteakos standard is better tailored to the nature and purpose of collateral review than the Chapman standard, and is more likely to promote the considerations underlying this Court's recent habeas jurisprudence. In recognition of the historical distinction between direct review as the principal way to challenge a conviction and collateral review as an extraordinary remedy whose role is secondary and limited, the Court has often applied different standards on habeas than on direct review. It scarcely seems logical to require federal habeas courts to engage in the same approach that Chapman requires of state courts on direct review, since the latter courts are fully qualified to identify constitutional error and are often better situated to evaluate its prejudicial effect on the trial process. Absent affirmative evidence that statecourt judges are ignoring their oath, Brecht's argument is unpersuasive that such courts will respond to the application of Kotteakos on federal habeas by violating their Article VI duty to uphold the Constitution. In any event, the additional deterrent effect, if any, of applying Chapman on federal habeas is outweighed by the costs of that application,cralaw
Attorney General Barr argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae urging affirmance. On the brief were Solicitor General Starr, Assistant Attorney Generalcralaw
Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the State of California et al. by Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General of California, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Deputy Attorney General, and Mark L. Krotoski, Special Assistant Attorney General, James H. Evans, Attorney General of Alabama, Charles E. Cole, Attorney General of Alaska, Winston Bryant, Attorney General of Arkansas, Gale A. Norton, Attorney General of Colorado, Richard N. Palmer, Chief State's Attorney of Connecticut, Larry EchoHawk, Attorney General of Idaho, Linley E. Pearson, Attorney General of Indiana, Robert T. Stephan, Attorney General of Kansas, Chris Gorman, Attorney General of Kentucky, Richard P. Ieyoub, Attorney General of Louisiana, Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General of Michigan, Michael C. Moore, Attorney General of Mississippi, William L. Webster, Attorney General of Missouri, Marc Racicot, Attorney General of Montana, Don Stenberg, Attorney General of Nebraska, Frankie Sue Del Papa, Attorney General of Nevada, Robert J. Del Tufo, Attorney General of New Jersey, Lee Fisher, Attorney General of Ohio, Ernest D. Preate, Jr., Attorney General of Pennsylvania, T. Travis Medlock, Attorney General of South Carolina, Mark Barnett, Attorney General of South Dakota, Dan Morales, Attorney General of Texas, Paul Van Dam, Attorney General of Utah, Jeffrey L. Amestoy, Attorney General of Vermont, Kenneth O. Eikenberry, Attorney General of Washington, Mario J. Palumbo, Attorney General of West Virginia, and Joseph B. Meyer, Attorney General of Wyoming; for the County of Wayne, Michigan, by John D. O'Hair and Timothy A. Baughman; and for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation by Kent S. Scheidegger and Charles L. Hobson.cralaw
1 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966).cralaw
The State argued that petitioner's account was belied by the fact that he had failed to get help for Hartman, fled the Hartmans' home immediately after the shooting, and lied to the police officer who came upon him in the ditch about having called Mrs. Hartman. In addition, the State pointed out that petitioner had failed to mention anything about the shooting being an accident to the officer who found him in the ditch, the man who gave him a ride to Winona, or thecralaw
During closing argument, the State urged the jury to "remember that Mr. Brecht never volunteered until in this courtroom what happened in the Hartman residence .... " Id., at 30. It also made the following statement with regard to petitioner's pretrial silence: "He sits back here and sees all of our evidence go in and then he comes out with this crazy story .... " Id., at 31. Finally, during its closing rebuttal, the State said: "I know what I'd say [had I been in petitioner's shoes], I'd say, 'hold on, this was a mistake, this was an accident, let me tell you what happened,' but he didn't say that did he. No, he waited until he hears our story." Id., at 36.cralaw
Petitioner then sought a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U. S. C. § 2254, reasserting his Doyle claim. The District Court agreed that the State's use of petitioner's postMiranda silence violated Doyle, but disagreed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court that this error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, and set aside the conviction. 759 F. Supp. 500 (WD Wis. 1991). The District Court based its harmless-error determination on its view that the State's evidence of guilt was not "overwhelming," and that the State's references to petitioner's post-Miranda silence, though "not extensive," were "crucial" because petitioner's defense turned on his credibility. Id., at 508. The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed. It, too, concluded that the State's references to petitioner's post-Miranda silence violated Doyle, but it disagreed with both the standard that the District Court had applied in conducting its harmless-errorcralaw
3 Cf. Bass v. Nix, 909 F.2d 297 (CAS 1990) (The Chapman harmlesserror standard governs in reviewing Doyle violations on collateral review).cralaw
This case illustrates the point well. The first time petitioner claimed that the shooting was an accident was when he took the stand at trial. It was entirely proper-and probative-for the State to impeach his testimony by pointing out that petitioner had failed to tell anyone before the time he received his Miranda warnings at his arraignment about the shooting being an accident. Indeed, if the shooting was an accident, petitioner had every reason-including to clear his name and preserve evidence supporting his version of the events-to offer his account immediately following the shooting. On the other hand, the State's references to petitioner's silence after that point in time, or more generally to petitioner's failure to come forward with his version ofcralaw
4 Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U. S. 335 (1963).cralaw
6 In Greer v. Miller, 483 U. S. 756 (1987), we granted certiorari to consider the same question presented here but did not reach this question because we concluded that no Doyle error had occurred in that case. See 483 U. S., at 761, n. 3, 765. But see id., at 768 (STEVENS, J., concurring in judgment) ("I believe the question presented in the certiorari petition-cralaw
7In Kotteakos, we construed §2111's statutory predecessor, 28 U. S. C. §391 (1925-1926 ed.). Section 391 provided: "On the hearing of any appeal, certiorari, writ of error, or motion for a new trial, in any case, civil or criminal, the court shall give judgment after an examination of the entire record before the court, without regard to technical errors, defects, or exceptions which do not affect the substantial rights of the parties." In formulating §391's harmless-error standard, we focused on the phrase "affect the substantial rights of the parties," and heldcralaw
that the test was whether the error "had substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict." 328 U. S., at 776. Although Congress tinkered with the language of § 391 when it enacted § 2111 in its place in 1949, Congress left untouched the phrase "affect the substantial rights of the parties." Thus, the enactment of §2111 did not alter the basis for the harmless-error standard announced in Kotteakos. If anything, Congress' deletion of the word "technical," makes § 2111 more amenable to harmless-error review of constitutional violations. Cf. United States v. Hasting, 461 U. S. 499, 509-510, n. 7 (1983).cralaw
In keeping with this distinction, the writ of habeas corpus has historically been regarded as an extraordinary remedy, "a bulwark against convictions that violate 'fundamental fair-cralaw
8 For instance, we have held that an error of law does not provide a basis for habeas relief under 28 U. S. C. § 2255 unless it constitutes "'a fundamental defect which inherently results in a complete miscarriage of justice.''' United States v. Timmreck, 441 U. S. 780, 783 (1979) (quoting Hill v. United States, 368 U. S. 424, 428 (1962)).cralaw
In light of these considerations, we must decide whether the same harmless-error standard that the state courts ap-cralaw
Petitioner argues that application of the Chapman harmless-error standard on collateral review is necessary to deter state courts from relaxing their own guard in reviewing constitutional error and to discourage prosecutors from committing error in the first place. Absent affirmative evidence that state-court judges are ignoring their oath, we discount petitioner's argument that courts will respond to our ruling by violating their Article VI duty to uphold the Constitution. See Robb v. Connolly, 111 U. S. 624, 637 (1884). Federalism, comity, and the constitutional obligation of state and federal courts all counsel against any presumption that a decision of this Court will "deter" lower federal or state courts from fully performing their sworn duty. See Engle, supra, at 128; Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U. S. 218, 263-265 (1973) (Powell, J., concurring). In any event, we think the costs of applying the Chapman standard on federal habeas outweigh the additional deterrent effect, if any, that would be derived from its application on collateral review.cralaw
The imbalance of the costs and benefits of applying the Chapman harmless-error standard on collateral review counsels in favor of applying a less onerous standard on habeas review of constitutional error. The Kotteakos standard, we believe, fills the bill. The test under Kotteakos is whether the error "had substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict." 328 U. S., at 776. Under this standard, habeas petitioners may obtain plenary review of their constitutional claims, but they are not entitled to habeas relief based on trial error unless they can establish that it resulted in "actual prejudice." See United States v. Lane, 474 U. S. 438, 449 (1986). The Kotteakoscralaw
9 Our holding does not foreclose the possibility that in an unusual case, a deliberate and especially egregious error of the trial type, or one that is combined with a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct, might so infect the integrity of the proceeding as to warrant the grant of habeas relief, even if it did not substantially influence the jury's verdict. Cf. Greer v. Miller, 483 U. S. 756, 769 (1987) (STEVENS, J., concurring in judgment). We, of course, are not presented with such a situation here.cralaw
The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the deprivation of liberty "without due process of law"; that guarantee is the source of the federal right to challenge state criminal convictions that result from fundamentally unfair trial proceedings. Neither the term "due process," nor the concept of fundamental unfairness itself, is susceptible of precise and categor-cralaw
We disagree, however, about whether the same form of harmless-error analysis should apply in a collateral attack as on a direct appeal, and, if not, what the collateral attack standard should be for an error of this kind. The answer to the first question follows from our long history of distinguishing between collateral and direct review, see, e. g., Sunal v. Large, 332 U. S. 174, 178 (1947), and confining collateral relief to cases that involve fundamental defects or omissions inconsistent with the rudimentary demands of fair procedure, see, e. g., United States v. Timmreck, 441 U. S. 780, 783 (1979), and cases cited therein. The Court answers the second question by endorsing Justice Rutledge's thoughtful opinion for the Court in Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U. S. 750 (1946). Ante, at 623,638. Because that standard accords with the statutory rule for reviewing other trial errors that affect substantial rights; places the burden on prosecutors to explain why those errors were harmless; requires a habeas court to review the entire record de novo in determiningcralaw
1 "It is also important to note that the purpose of the bill in its final form was stated authoritatively to be 'to cast upon the party seeking a new trial the burden of showing that any technical errors that he may complain of have affected his substantial rights, otherwise they are to be disregarded.' H. R. Rep. No. 913, 65th Cong., 3d Sess., 1. But that this burden does not extend to all errors appears from the statement which follows immediately. 'The proposed legislation affects only technical errors. If the error is of such a character that its natural effect is to prejudice a litigant's substantial rights, the burden of sustaining a verdict will, notwithstanding this legislation rest upon the one who claims under it.' Ibid.; Bruno v. United States, - [308 U. S. 287,294 (1939)]; Weiler v. United States, 323 U. S. 606, 611 [(1945)]." Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U. S., at 760-761.cralaw
2 "The inquiry cannot be merely whether there was enough to support the result, apart from the phase affected by the error." Id., at 765.cralaw
Although our adoption of Kotteakos does impose a new standard in this context, it is a standard that will always require "the discrimination ... of judgment transcending confinement by formula or precise rule. United States v.cralaw
3 Justice Rutledge continued: "That faculty cannot ever be wholly imprisoned in words, much less upon such a criterion as what are only technical, what substantial rights; and what really affects the latter hurtfully. Judgment, the play of impression and conviction along with intelligence, varies with judges and also with circumstance. What may be technical for one is substantial for another; what minor and unimportant in one setting crucial in another." Id., at 761.cralaw
Under Chapman, federal law requires reversal of a statecralaw
Stone was premised on the view that the exclusionary rule is not a "personal constitutional right," id., at 486, and that it "does not exist to remedy any wrong committed against the defendant, but rather to deter violations of the Fourth Amendment by law enforcement personnel," Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U. S. 365, 392 (1986) (Powell, J., concurring in judgment). In other words, one whose conviction rests on evidence obtained in a search or seizure that violated the Fourth Amendment is deemed not to be unconstitutionallycralaw
The majority's decision to adopt this novel approach is far from inconsequential. Under Chapman, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the constitutional error "did not contribute to the verdict obtained." 386 U. S., at 24. In contrast, the Court now invokes Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U. S. 750 (1946)-a case involving a nonconstitutional error of trial procedure-to impose on the defendant the burden of establishing that the error "resulted in 'actual prejudice.'" Ante, at 637. Moreover, although the Court of Appeals limited its holding to Doyle and other socalled "prophylactic" rules, 944 F. 2d, at 1375, and although the parties' arguments were similarly focused, see Brief for Respondent 36-37; Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 16, 19, n. 11, the Court extends its holding to all "constitutional error[s] of the trial type," ante, at 638. Given thatcralaw
* As I explained in Fulminante, I have serious doubt regarding the effort to classify in systematic fashion constitutional violations as either "trial errors"-that are subject to harmlessness analysis-or "structural defects"-that are not. See 499 U. S., at 290 (WHITE, J., dissenting).cralaw
Our habeas jurisprudence is taking on the appearance of a confused patchwork in which different constitutional rights are treated according to their status, and in which the same constitutional right is treated differently depending on whether its vindication is sought on direct or collateral review. I believe this picture bears scant resemblance either to Congress' design or to our own precedents. The Court of Appeals having yet to apply Chapman to the facts of this case, I would remand to that court for determination of whether the Doyle violation was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. I dissent.cralaw
The issue before us is not whether we should remove from the cognizance of the federal courts on habeas a discrete prophylactic rule unrelated to the truthfinding function of trial, as was the case in Stone v. Powell, 428 U. S. 465 (1976), and more recently in Withrow v. Williams, post, p. 680. Rather, we are asked to alter a standard that not only finds application in virtually every case of error but that also may be critical to our faith in the reliability of the criminal process. Because I am not convinced that the principles governing the exercise of our habeas powers-federalism, finality, and fairness-counsel against applying Chapman's harmlesserror standard on collateral review, I would adhere to ourcralaw
Petitioner in this case alleged a violation of Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U. S. 610 (1976), an error the Court accurately characterizes as constitutional trial error. Ante, at 629-630. But the Court's holding today, it turns out, has nothing to do with Doyle error at all. Instead, the Court announces that the harmless-error standard of Chapman v. California, 386 U. S. 18, 24 (1967), which requires the prosecution to prove constitutional error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, no longer applies to any trial error asserted on habeas, whether it is acralaw
In my view, the harmless-error standard often will be inextricably intertwined with the interest of reliability. By now it goes without saying that harmless-error review is of almost universal application; there are few errors that may not be forgiven as harmless. Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U. S. 279, 306-307 (1991). For example, we have recognizedcralaw
At least where errors bearing on accuracy are at issue, I am not persuaded that the Kotteakos standard offers an adequate assurance of reliability. Under the Court's holding today, federal courts on habeas are barred from offering relief unless the error" 'had substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict.'" Ante, at 637 (quoting Kotteakos, supra, at 776). By tolerating a greater probability that an error with the potential to undermine verdict accuracy was harmful, the Court increases the likelihood that a conviction will be preserved despite an error that actually affected the reliability of the trial. Of course, the Constitution does not require that every conceivable precau-cralaw
To be sure, the harmless-error inquiry will not always bear on reliability. If the trial error being reviewed for harmlessness is not itself related to the interest of accuracy, neither is the harmless-error standard. Accordingly, in theory it would be neither illogical nor grudging to reserve Chapman for errors related to the accuracy of the verdict, applying Kotteakos' more lenient rule whenever the error is of a type that does not impair confidence in the trial's result. But the Court draws no such distinction. On the contrary, it holds Kotteakos applicable to all trial errors, whether related to reliability or not. The Court does offer a glimmer of hope by reserving in a footnote the possibility of an exception: Chapman may remain applicable, it suggests, in some "unusual" cases. But the Court's description of those cases suggests that its potential exception would be both exceedingly narrow and unrelated to reliability concerns. See ante, at 638, n. 9 (reserving the "possibility that in an unusual case, a deliberate and especially egregious error of the trial type" or error "combined with a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct, might so infect the integrity of the proceeding as to warrant the grant of habeas relief, even it did not substantially influence the jury's verdict").cralaw
Nor does the majority demonstrate that the Kotteakos standard will ease the burden of conducting harmless-error review in those cases to which it does apply. Indeed, as JusTICE STEVENS demonstrates in his concurrence, Kotteakos is unlikely to lighten the load of the federal judiciary at all. The courts still must review the entire record in search ofcralaw
Finally, the majority considers the costs of habeas review generally. Ante, at 637. Once again, I agree that those costs-the effect on finality, the infringement on state sovereignty, and the social cost of requiring retrial, sometimes years after trial and at a time when a new trial has become difficult or impossible-are appropriate considerations. See Withrow, post, at 703-704 (O'CONNOR, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part); see also post, at 686-687, 708-709; Stone, supra, at 489-491. But the Court does not explain how those costs set the harmless-error inquiry apart from any other question presented on habeas; such costs are inevitable whenever relief is awarded. Unless we are to accept the proposition that denying relief whenever possible is an unalloyed good, the costs the Court identifies cannot by themselves justify the lowering of standards announced today. The majority, of course, does not contend otherwise; instead, it adheres to our traditional approach of distinguishing between those claims that are worthy of habeas relief and those that, for prudential and equitable reasons, are not. Nonetheless, it seems to me that the Court's decision cuts too broadly and deeply to comport with the equitable and remedial nature of the habeas writ; it is neither justified norcralaw