Opinion ID: 788575
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony Regarding Burton's Incarceration

Text: 66 Burton's second procedurally defaulted claim is that his constitutional due process rights were violated when a witness for the prosecution stated on direct examination that he had been incarcerated with Burton. During the course of direct examination of Jackie Robinson Harris, the prosecutor asked Harris whether he had received any threats from Burton, to which Harris replied, Well, I was in the bull pen with him over to the — . Trial Tr. Vol. II at 416 (Test. of Jackie Robinson Harris). Defense counsel raised an objection, the court held a bench conference, and the prosecutor then questioned Harris outside the presence of the jury. At the end of the questioning, the prosecutor and defense counsel determined that they did not wish to present any of the testimony elicited to the jury. Trial Tr. Vol. II at 416-19. Before the jury returned to the courtroom, the prosecutor made the following statement: 67 And just so the witness knows and the Court knows and Mr. Brehler [defense counsel] knows, I will be asking [Harris] about two felony convictions that he pled to that he's under sentence for. And they're both of the type that fall under the court rule, because they are in the court rule category. 4 And those are the only two that he has on his record. 68 Trial Tr. Vol. II at 419. Defense counsel entered no objection, and the prosecutor concluded his questioning by establishing Mr. Harris's convictions for felony larceny and attempted armed robbery. Trial Tr. Vol. II at 420. 69 In support of his claim, Burton cites Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501, 96 S.Ct. 1691, 48 L.Ed.2d 126 (1976), in which the Supreme Court held that compelling prisoners to wear prison clothing during jury trials violated prisoners' due process rights because of the impact on defendants' presumption of innocence. However, the conduct in this case does not rise to the level of a due process violation as described in Estelle. First, the effect of Harris's passing use of the euphemism bull pen on Burton's presumption of innocence is considerably less than the negative impact of a defendant being dressed in prison attire throughout the entirety of his or her trial. Even assuming the jurors understood the meaning of the term bull pen, any negative effect was mitigated by Harris's testimony being halted as soon as he used the term, and the court and counsel's repeated instructions to the jury regarding the prosecution's burden of proof and Burton's presumption of innocence. Furthermore, Harris's testimony did not refer specifically to Burton being previously convicted of a crime, and indeed probably related to Burton's confinement prior to conviction. See Black's Law Dictionary (8th ed.2004) (defining bullpen as 1. An area in a prison where inmates are kept in close confinement. 2. A detention cell where prisoners are held until they are brought into court.). The record indicates that the jury would have been aware of Burton being held in police custody as a result of the testimony of Dennis Michael Shaw (to which defense counsel did not object) that Shaw took custody of Burton in Detroit. Tr. Trans. Vol. III at 542 (Test. of Dennis Michael Shaw). Jurors in a criminal case, even in the absence of a statement regarding the defendant's custodial detention during trial, are likely to presume that a criminal defendant, irrespective of his or her guilt or innocence, has spent at least some time in custody as a result of being charged with a crime, particularly one such as murder. Thus, it does not appear that the prosecution's eliciting of a passing reference to Burton's pre-trial incarceration impacted Burton's right to a presumption of innocence or was so fundamentally unfair as to require reversal of Burton's conviction. Because an objectively reasonable attorney could decide not to press this issue on appeal, and Burton has not shown a reasonable probability that his conviction would have been overturned if the issue had been raised, Burton has failed to demonstrate that his counsel on direct appeal was so constitutionally ineffective as to establish cause for excusing procedural default.