Source: https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/casdce/3:2017cv00438/526797/24
Timestamp: 2018-07-23 17:55:40
Document Index: 423157732

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 636', '§ 6', 'art, 8', '§ 636', '§ 2254', '§ 2253']

ORDER Adopting 22 Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge; Overruling 23 Objections to Report and Recommendation; Denying 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus; Denying Request for Evidentiary Hearing; and Declining to Issue Certificate of Appealability for Gutierrez v. Montgomery :: Justia Dockets & Filings
Justia Dockets & Filings Ninth Circuit California California Southern District Court Gutierrez v. Montgomery Filing 24
ORDER Adopting 22 Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge; Overruling 23 Objections to Report and Recommendation; Denying 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus; Denying Request for Evidentiary Hearing; and Declining to Issue Certificate of Appealability. Petitioner's objections are overruled, the Report and Recommendation is adopted in its entirety, the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and request for evidentiary hearing are denied, and the Court declines to issue a certificate of appealability. The Clerk of Court is instructed to terminate this case and enter judgment in favor of Respondent. Signed by Judge Michael M. Anello on 3/8/2018. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(rmc)
1 2 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 6 ROLANDO GUTIERREZ, Case No.: 17cv438-MMA (MDD) Petitioner, 7 8 9 ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE; v. SCOTT KERNAN, Secretary, 10 Respondent. [Doc. No. 22] 11 OVERRULING OBJECTIONS TO REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION; 12 13 14 [Doc. No. 23] 15 DENYING PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS; 16 17 [Doc. No. 1] 18 DENYING REQUEST FOR EVIDENTIARY HEARING; AND 19 20 [Doc. No. 1] 21 22 DECLINING TO ISSUE CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY 23 24 25 Petitioner Roland I. Gutierrez (“Petitioner”), a state prisoner proceeding pro se, 26 filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus (“petition”) pursuant to Title 28 of the United 27 States Code, section 2254 [Doc. No. 1] challenging the constitutionality of his state court 28 convictions for two incidents which were tried together. See Lodg. No. 12 at 2. 1 17cv438-MMA (MDD) 1 Petitioner challenges his state court convictions of second degree murder of Hannah 2 Podhorsky and the attempted second-degree murder of another victim from a February 3 2009 shooting in violation of California Penal Code sections 187(a) and 664. Id.; Lodg. 4 No. 7 at 2176-77. As to both of those counts, the jury found true allegations that 5 Petitioner committed the crimes as part of criminal street gang-related activities and that 6 he was a principal in the crimes, and in their commission at least one principal used a 7 firearm, proximately causing a person’s death in violation of California Penal Code 8 sections 186322(b)(1), 12022.53(d), and 12022.53(e)(1). Lodg. Nos. 12 at 2; 7 at 2176- 9 78. Also, Petitioner challenges his state court convictions of making a criminal threat and 10 corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition from a domestic violence incident in 11 August 2011 in violation of California Penal Code sections 422 and 273.5(a). Lodg. Nos. 12 12 at 2; 7 at 2178-79. As to the corporal injury count, the jury found true the allegation 13 that Petitioner personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon in violation of California 14 Penal Code sections 12022(b)(1) and 1192.7(c)(23). Lodg. Nos. 12 at 2; 7 at 2178-79. 15 Petitioner asserts that the 2009 and 2011 charges were improperly joined, the trial 16 court improperly admitted gang evidence, there was insufficient evidence to support the 17 gang enhancement (California Penal Code section 186.22), and trial and appellate 18 counsel provided ineffective assistance. See generally, Doc. No. 1. Respondent 19 answered on the merits, requesting the petition be denied with prejudice, and that no 20 certificate of appealability be issued. Doc. No. 15 at 30. Petitioner filed a traverse. Doc. 21 No. 21. 22 The matter was referred to United States Magistrate Judge Dembin for preparation 23 of a Report and Recommendation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), and Civil Local 24 Rule HC.2. Judge Dembin has issued a detailed and well-reasoned report recommending 25 that the Court deny Petitioner’s claims for relief without an evidentiary hearing and 26 dismiss the petition. See Doc. No. 22. Petitioner timely filed objections to the Report 27 and Recommendation on February 21, 2018. See Doc. No. 23. For the reasons set forth 28 below, the Court finds the Report and Recommendation to be thorough, complete, and an 2 17cv438-MMA (MDD) 1 accurate analysis of the legal issues presented in the petition. As such, the Court 2 OVERRULES Petitioner’s objections and ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation in 3 its entirety. 4 STANDARD OF REVIEW 5 Pursuant to Rule 72 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and 28 U.S.C. § 6 636(b)(1), the Court must “make a de novo determination of those portions of the report 7 . . . to which objection is made,” and “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, 8 the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate [judge].” 28 U.S.C. 9 § 636(b)(1); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3); see also United States v. Remsing, 874 F.2d 10 614, 617 (9th Cir. 1989). 11 DISCUSSION 12 Petitioner objects to Judge Dembin’s Report and Recommendation on various 13 grounds. See Doc. No. 23. The Court has conducted a de novo review of the pertinent 14 portions of the record with respect to each of Petitioner’s objections, and each objection 15 is addressed in turn. 16 First, Petitioner contends he has met the appropriate standard to prevail on his 17 claims for prejudicial improper joinder of charges. Id. at 1-3. Petitioner’s objections do 18 not present new argument and repeat arguments found in the petition and traverse. See 19 Doc. Nos. 1, 21, 23. Judge Dembin thoroughly addresses these arguments in the Report 20 and Recommendation. Doc. No. 22 at 17-18. Accordingly, the Court finds Petitioner’s 21 prejudicial improper joinder of charges objections are without merit. 22 Second, Petitioner claims he demonstrates cause and prejudice, thereby 23 overcoming Respondent’s procedural default affirmative defense. See Doc. No. 23 at 3, 24 7. Specifically, Petitioner asserts that his ineffective assistance of counsel claims 25 constitute cause and the fact that he was “not found guilty of [California Penal Code 26 section] 12022.53(d), which shows the jury did not find true Petitioner murdered 27 Podhorsky . . .” establishes the requisite prejudice. Doc. No. 23 at 3. As indicated 28 below, Judge Dembin thoroughly addresses Petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel 3 17cv438-MMA (MDD) 1 claims and recommends that they be denied. As a result, the Court finds Petitioner’s 2 cause and prejudice objections are without merit. See Engle v. Isaac, 456 U.S. 107, 134 3 n.43 (1982) (stating that the court need not consider whether the petitioner suffered actual 4 prejudice if the petitioner fails to show cause). 5 Third, Petitioner contends he adequately demonstrates that the admission of 6 Detective Sherman’s testimony was prejudicial and improper. Doc. No. 23 at 4. 7 Petitioner’s objections do not present new argument and repeat arguments found in the 8 petition and traverse. See Doc. Nos. 1, 21, 23. Judge Dembin thoroughly addresses these 9 arguments in the Report and Recommendation. Doc. No. 22 at 23-24. Accordingly, the 10 Court finds Petitioner’s objections with respect to admissions of evidence that render a 11 trial fundamentally unfair are without merit. See Holley v. Yarborough, 568 F.3d 1091, 12 1101 (9th Cir. 2009) (noting that the Supreme Court “has not yet made a clear ruling that 13 admission of irrelevant or overtly prejudicial evidence constitutes a due process violation 14 sufficient to warrant issuance of a writ”). 15 Fourth, Petitioner asserts he demonstrates ineffective assistance of trial counsel 16 because his trial counsel failed to consult an expert toxicologist, to object to the 17 admission of a “threatening text message,” and to call two witnesses. Doc. No. 23 at 4-6. 18 He also asserts that he demonstrates ineffective assistance of appellate counsel for failing 19 to raise trial counsel’s ineffective assistance on appeal. Id. at 6-7. Again, Petitioner’s 20 objections do not present new argument and repeat arguments found in the petition and 21 traverse. See Doc. Nos. 1, 21, 23. Judge Dembin thoroughly addresses these arguments 22 in the Report and Recommendation. Doc. No. 22 at 24-34. As such, the Court finds 23 Petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel objections are without merit. 24 Fifth, Petitioner contends he is entitled to an evidentiary hearing “[f]or the reasons 25 set forth in this Petition[,] Traverse, and Objection.” Doc. No. 23 at 7. Title 28 U.S.C. 26 section 2254(e) “substantially restricts the district court’s discretion to grant an 27 evidentiary hearing.” Baja v. Ducharme, 187 F.3d 1075, 1077 (9th Cir. 1999). Section 28 2254(e)(2) provides: 4 17cv438-MMA (MDD) 1 2 If the applicant has failed to develop the factual basis of a claim in State court proceedings, the court shall not hold an evidentiary hearing on the claim unless the applicant shows that-- 3 4 5 6 (A) the claim relies on-(i) a new rule of constitutional law, made retroactive to cases on collateral review by the Supreme Court, that was previously unavailable; or 7 8 (ii) a factual predicate that could not have been previously discovered through the exercise of due diligence; and 9 10 11 12 13 14 (B) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient to establish by clear and convincing evidence that but for constitutional error, no reasonable factfinder would have found the applicant guilty of the underlying offense. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2). Judge Dembin correctly concludes that Petitioner fails to show that his claim relies 15 on a new rule of constitutional law, a factual predicate that could not have been 16 previously discovered, or that the facts underlying the claim sufficiently establish by 17 clear and convincing evidence that but for constitutional error, no reasonable factfinder 18 would have found him guilty. Doc. No. 22 at 35. Accordingly, the Court finds 19 Petitioner’s evidentiary hearing objections are without merit and that there is a sufficient 20 factual basis in the record to resolve Petitioner’s claims. See Insyxiengmay v. Morgan, 21 403 F.3d 657, 669-70 (9th Cir. 2005). 22 CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY 23 Rule 11 of the Federal Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases states that “the district 24 court must issue or deny a certificate of appealability when it enters a final order adverse 25 to the applicant.” A certificate of appealability is not issued unless there is “a substantial 26 showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). Under this 27 standard, a petitioner must show that reasonable jurists could debate whether the petition 28 should have been resolved in a different manner, or that the issues presented were 5 17cv438-MMA (MDD) 1 adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 2 322, 336 (2003) (quoting Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000)). 3 For the reasons set forth in the Report and Recommendation, the Court finds this 4 standard has not been met. Accordingly, the Court DECLINES to issue a certificate of 5 appealability as to any claims or issues raised in the petition. 6 CONCLUSION 7 Based on the foregoing, Petitioner’s objections are OVERRULED, the Report and 8 Recommendation is ADOPTED in its entirety, the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus 9 and request for evidentiary hearing are DENIED, and the Court DECLINES to issue a 10 11 12 13 14 certificate of appealability. The Clerk of Court is instructed to terminate this case and enter judgment in favor of Respondent. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: March 8, 2018 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 6 17cv438-MMA (MDD)