Source: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/210-f-3d-481-598807038
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 16:09:41
Document Index: 309968955

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2244', '§ 2254', '§ 2263', '§ 848', '§ 2253', '§ 2253', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254']

210 F.3d 481 (5th Cir. 2000), 99-10801, Hill v Johnson - Federal Cases - Case Law - VLEX 598807038
210 F.3d 481 (5th Cir. 2000), 99-10801, Hill v Johnson
Docket Nº: 99-10801
Citation: 210 F.3d 481
Party Name: MACK ORAN HILL Petitioner - Appellant v. GARY L JOHNSON, DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, INSTITUTIONAL DIVISION Respondent - Appellee
Case Date: April 20, 2000
210 F.3d 481 (5th Cir. 2000)
MACK ORAN HILL Petitioner - Appellant
GARY L JOHNSON, DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, INSTITUTIONAL DIVISION Respondent - Appellee
No. 99-10801
Hill's counsel almost immediately filed a motion for equitable tolling of the statute of limitations of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA"), Pub. L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214, arguing that the significant delay in appointing counsel for purposes of Hill's
state habeas proceedings warranted tolling. The filing of the skeletal petition had stayed the statute of limitations, see 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2), but left only 13 days remaining in Hill's one-year grace period. See Flanagan v. Johnson, 154 F.3d 196, 200 (5th Cir. 1998) (applying rule announced in United States v. Flores, 135 F.3d 1000 (5th Cir. 1998), to petitions filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 and thus allowing prisoners whose convictions were final before AEDPA's effective date until April 24, 1997 to file petitions in federal court). The court denied the benefits of equitable tolling, but construed Hill's motion as one for an extension under 28 U.S.C. § 2263. The court granted an extension until March 31, 1999.
Hill filed his petition seeking federal habeas relief on March 30, 1999. He filed motions under 21 U.S.C. § 848(q)(4)(B) seeking the assistance of a forensic expert (on June 7, 1999), and of an investigator for discovery purposes (on June 11, 1999), and under Rule 6 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases seeking additional discovery (on June 11, 1999). Each of these motions was denied the same day it was filed. The district court held on June 11 a hearing regarding Respondent Gary L. Johnson's ("Respondent") June 10 motion for summary judgment, and on July 1, issued its findings of fact and conclusions of law, granted Respondent's motion, and entered a judgment dismissing Hill's petition with prejudice.
Hill's petition for federal habeas relief was filed on March 30, 1999, and therefore his case is governed by the provisions of the AEDPA. See Green v. Johnson, 116 F.3d 1115, 1119-20 (5th Cir. 1997). Under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A), Hill must first obtain a COA before he may obtain appellate review of the district court's denial of habeas relief. A COA can issue only if Hill makes a "substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." Id. § 2253(c)(2). Such a showing "requires the applicant to 'demonstrate that the issues are debatable among jurists of reason; that a court could resolve the issues (in a different manner); or that the questions are adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.'" Drinkard v. Johnson, 97 F.3d 751, 755 (5th Cir. 1996) (quoting Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 893 n.4 (1983)), overruled on other grounds by Lindh v. Murphy, 521 U.S. 320 (1997). We resolve doubts about whether to grant a COA in Hill's favor, and we may consider the severity of his penalty in determining whether he has met his "substantial showing" burden. See Fuller v. Johnson, 114 F.3d 491, 495 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 963 (1997).
In assessing whether Hill is entitled to a COA, we must keep in mind the
deference scheme laid out in 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). See Trevino v. Johnson, 168 F.3d 173, 181 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 120 S.Ct. 22 (1999). Under that scheme, we review pure questions of law and mixed questions of law and fact under § 2254(d)(1), and review questions of fact under § 2254(d)(2), provided that the state court adjudicated the claim on the merits. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals explicitly adopted the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the trial court, and denied relief. This qualifies as an "adjudication on the merits." See Trevino, 168 F.3d at 181; Davis v. Johnson, 158 F.3d 806, 812 (5th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 119 S.Ct. 1474 (1999).
As a result, we must defer to the state court unless its decision "was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). A decision is contrary to clearly established Federal law "if the state court arrives at a conclusion opposite to that reached by [the Supreme Court] on a question of law or if the state court decides a case differently than [the] Court has on a set of materially indistinguishable facts." Williams v. Taylor, __ U.S. __ , 120 S.Ct. 1495, 2000 WL 385369, at *28 (2000). Under § 2254(d)(1)'s "unreasonable application" language, a writ may issue "if the state court identifies the correct governing legal principle from [the] Court's decisions but unreasonably applies that principle to the facts of the prisoner's case." Williams, 120 S.Ct. at ___, 2000 WL 385369, at *28. Factual findings are presumed to be correct, see 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1), andwe will give deference to the state court's decision unless it "was based on an unreasonable determination of...