Opinion ID: 584065
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Alleged Rose v. Lundy Violation

Text: 17 Atkins argues that the district court should have dismissed Atkins' habeas petition because it was a so-called mixed petition subject to mandatory dismissal under Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 102 S.Ct. 1198, 71 L.Ed.2d 379 (1982). We disagree. 18 Atkins says the district court found the following three claims were unexhausted: ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failing to investigate the scene of the crime; ineffective assistance of appellate counsel for failing to argue that Atkins' mental impairment precluded a voluntary Miranda waiver; and ineffective assistance of appellate counsel for failing to contest the evidentiary admission of Atkins' confession to sexual battery. To the extent Atkins argues that the district court found Atkins failed to raise these issues during his state 3.850 proceedings, we agree. But we disagree with Atkins' argument that the district court needed to dismiss Atkins' habeas petition because these ineffective-assistance claims had not been raised in the state courts. 19 For purposes of this discussion, we assume that Atkins might be able to raise these issues at another Rule 3.850 proceeding. 3 The more crucial question, though, is whether, under Lundy, the district court should have dismissed Atkins' petition. We conclude no dismissal was required. 20 Within five years after Rose v. Lundy, the Supreme Court in Granberry v. Greer, 481 U.S. 129, 131, 107 S.Ct. 1671, 1674, 95 L.Ed.2d 119 (1987), recognized that there are some cases in which it is appropriate for an appellate court to address the merits of a habeas corpus petition notwithstanding the lack of complete exhaustion. The Supreme Court instructed us that, if it is perfectly clear that the applicant does not raise even a colorable federal claim, the interests of the petitioner, the warden, the state attorney general, the state courts, and the federal courts will all be well served ... if ... the district court denies the habeas petition, and the court of appeals affirms the judgment of the district court. Id. at 135, 107 S.Ct. at 1675. Because the three claims that Atkins failed to raise in the state courts present no colorable federal claim, we conclude that no dismissal was required. We will address the merits of these three claims in Section II.D. See infra §§ II.D.1.a (scene of crime); II.D.1.d (sexual-battery confession); II.D.2 (Miranda).