Opinion ID: 3031114
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: In Camera Hearing

Text: [7] Insyxiengmay challenges the trial court’s decision to exclude him and his attorney from an in camera hearing regarding his request to be advised of the identity of the confidential informant and of any information the informant possessed that might be relevant to his defense. A defendant has a right guaranteed by the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to be present at every critical stage of the proceedings. See Illinois v. Allen, 397 U.S. 337, 338 (1970) (discussing confrontation clause); Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 819 n.15 (1975) (discussing due process clause). “Few rights are more fundamental than that of an accused to present witnesses in his own defense.” Taylor v. Illinois, 484 U.S. 400, 417 n.23 (1988) (citation omitted). 5 Indeed, we question whether in order to exhaust the three claims it was even necessary for Insyxiengmay to file an appendix with the Washington Supreme Court discussing their merits. Because in his motion Insyxiengmay asked the Washington Supreme Court to allow the claims to proceed in the court of appeals, and the court declined the request, thus barring him from presenting the claims for review either to the court of appeals or the supreme court, any further duty to exhaust was excused. Under the circumstances, presenting any argument on the merits would have been, and was, futile. INSYXIENGMAY v. MORGAN 3823 Because the trial court permitted only the witness (the law enforcement officer to whom the confidential informant reported) and the prosecutors to be present at the hearing and did not allow defense counsel to submit questions for the witness, the Washington Court of Appeals concluded that “[f]ailing to notify the defendant of an in camera proceeding or to permit the defense counsel to submit questions to be asked of the informant is a violation of basic Sixth Amendment due process,” citing State v. Smith, 677 P.2d 100, 105 (Wash. 1984). On this appeal, the State has not questioned the correctness of the state court of appeals’ determination that Insyxiengmay’s Sixth Amendment right was violated. Instead, it relies exclusively on that court’s prejudice ruling. No court that has reviewed this case has disagreed that the exclusion of the defense from the in camera hearing violated Insyxiengmay’s Sixth Amendment rights. The district court dismissed Insyxiengmay’s claim, however, “because petitioner [ ] failed to show [the confidential informant] had any information pertinent to petitioner’s case.” In doing so, the court failed to recognize that the facts in the record before it gave rise to the clear inference that the informant possessed material information. More important, it erroneously failed to afford Insyxiengmay an evidentiary hearing. [8] We have previously outlined the procedure for district courts to follow when determining whether an evidentiary hearing is warranted post-AEDPA: Under the amended statutory scheme, a district court presented with a request for an evidentiary hearing . . . must determine whether a factual basis exists in the record to support the petitioner’s claim. If it does not, and an evidentiary hearing might be appropriate, the court’s first task in determining whether to grant an evidentiary hearing is to ascertain whether the petitioner has “failed to develop the factual basis of a claim in State court.” If so, the court must deny a 3824 INSYXIENGMAY v. MORGAN hearing unless the applicant establishes one of the two narrow exceptions set forth in section 2254(e)(2)(A) & (B). If, on the other hand, the applicant has not “failed to develop” the facts in state court, the district court may proceed to consider whether a hearing is appropriate, or required under Townsend [v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293 (1963)]. Baja v. Ducharme, 187 F.3d 1075, 1078 (9th Cir. 1999). In Townsend, the Supreme Court concluded that a defendant is entitled to a federal evidentiary hearing on his factual allegations if:
resolved in the state hearing; (2) the state factual determination is not fairly supported by the record as a whole; (3) the fact-finding 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 habeas applicant a full and fair fact hearing. 372 U.S. at 313. Assuming that the petitioner has not failed to develop his claim and can meet one of the Townsend factors, “[a]n evidentiary hearing on a habeas corpus petition is required whenever petitioner’s allegations, if proved, would entitle him to relief.” Turner v. Marshall, 63 F.3d 807, 815 (9th Cir. 1995) (citations omitted).6 6 Although it appears that in order for a petitioner to show that he has “not failed to develop his claim” he will in most cases have had to satisfy one of the Townsend factors, we recognize that our precedent requires that after meeting the “has not failed” requirement, the petitioner must proceed to satisfy Townsend. However, in such instances, meeting the second part of the test will ordinarily be only a formality. INSYXIENGMAY v. MORGAN 3825 The petitioner’s allegations need only amount to a colorable claim. See Beaty v. Stewart, 303 F.3d 975, 993 (9th Cir. 2002) (citing Townsend, 372 U.S. at 313); see also, Phillips v. Woodford, 267 F.3d 966, 973 (9th Cir. 2001) (“Where a petitioner raises a colorable claim [to relief], and where there has not been a state or federal hearing on this claim, we must remand to the district court for an evidentiary hearing.”). In sum, for a post-AEDPA petitioner to receive an evidentiary hearing in federal court, he must first show that he has not failed to develop the factual basis of the claim in the state courts: if he has failed, he must meet one of the two narrow exceptions stated in the statute. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2)(A) - (B). Then he must meet one of the Townsend factors and make colorable allegations that, if proved at an evidentiary hearing, would entitle him to habeas relief. [9] Insyxiengmay did not “fail to develop” the factual basis for his Sixth Amendment claim in the state courts. Under AEDPA, “a failure to develop the factual basis of a claim is not established unless there is a lack of diligence, or some greater fault, attributable to the prisoner or the prisoner’s counsel.” Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 420, 432 (2000) (citing Baja, supra, with approval). Fault cannot be attributed to Insyxiengmay because both he and his counsel were barred from the in camera hearing, and the court prohibited counsel from informing him of it, as well as of the existence of the confidential informant. Fault also cannot be attributed to Insyxiengmay’s counsel. Counsel attempted to obtain information regarding the State’s confidential informant and his knowledge of the facts. The trial court precluded him from speaking with his client about the informant, excluded him from the hearing, and refused to allow him to submit questions for the court to ask the informant. Thus, neither Insyxiengmay nor his counsel failed to develop the factual basis for the claim. Because, through no fault of his own, Insyxiengmay was not afforded a full and fair hearing by the state court, he is entitled to an evidentiary 3826 INSYXIENGMAY v. MORGAN hearing if he has presented a colorable claim that he was prejudiced by the Sixth Amendment violation found by the Washington courts. See Baja, 187 F.3d at 1078. [10] Insyxiengmay alleges that the informant possessed “information substantial to his defense.” At the in camera hearing, Deputy Cassio described having a “working relationship” with informant Prak, who had provided information “with regards to the activities of different members of” the defendants’ gang. Although it is unclear precisely what the extent of the relationship was between the informant and the deputy, and what information the informant may have contributed to the shootings investigation, apparently the relationship was close enough that the deputy felt compelled to falsify his police report to exclude any reference to Prak. It was evident from the in camera hearing that the informant had spent time with all of the defendants after the shootings and presumably had conveyed information from them regarding the criminal occurrence to Deputy Cassio. Indeed, the informant was with Insyxiengmay’s co-defendant at the time of his arrest. Prak knew both Insyxiengmay and the others involved in the shootings well and may also have obtained information from other gang members regarding the criminal conduct at issue. In short, the confidential informant was an individual who was in a position to provide highly relevant information to the defense. [11] Given all the circumstances, it was unreasonable for the state courts to assume that the informant did not possess information that could have materially benefitted the defendant. The facts suggest otherwise. Insyxiengmay has alleged a colorable claim of prejudice — a claim that he was precluded from developing at the state-court hearing. He is entitled to an evidentiary hearing.7 7 Insyxiengmay was pro se in the district court. On appeal, we appointed counsel. Counsel filed Motions to Enlarge Record on Appeal that included an affidavit recently obtained from confidential informant Prak. The affidavit sets forth exculpatory material of which Prak had knowledge at the time of the in camera hearing. Because we may reverse without even considering the affidavit, we deny the motions. INSYXIENGMAY v. MORGAN 3827