Opinion ID: 797784
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Matthews's Evidence of a Preexisting Deal

Text: 74 Apart from the state court's factual finding, Matthews argues that there is overwhelming evidence of a preexisting deal between the prosecution and Roulette. He cites the temporal proximity between his conviction and sentence and Roulette's plea; the assistant prosecutor's involvement in the plea; and the sentencing judge's comments to Roulette during the hearing. Moreover, although not highlighted by Matthews, there is also evidence in the record that Roulette recanted his trial testimony. 75 In a prior case, this court rejected a similar argument made by a habeas petitioner. In Williams v. Coyle, the petitioner asserted that deals to exchange lighter sentences for testimony against [him] existed between the prosecution and two witnesses. 260 F.3d 684, 707 (6th Cir. 2001). The prosecution's failure to disclose these deals violated Brady, according to the petitioner. In support, the petitioner pointed to one witness who was charged with aggravated robbery but allowed to plead guilty to a lesser-included offense one month after his testimony; he received an eighteen-month suspended sentence and five years of probation. Id. The petitioner also pointed to the other witness who was already serving a one-year sentence of imprisonment, but was allowed to vacate his prior plea agreement and plead to a lesser-included offense; he received a three-month suspended sentence and six months of inactive probation. Id. One of the witnesses submitted an affidavit stating that he did make a deal with the prosecution before his testimony and had lied about it during trial. Id. 76 The district court rejected the petitioner's Brady claim because it found that there were no preexisting deals. On appeal, this court affirmed: 77 To convince us that the district court erred, [the petitioner] must show that the court's factual finding that no deal existed was clearly erroneous. He cannot make that showing. The mere fact that [the witnesses'] sentences were later altered is not evidence that a deal existed prior to their testimony at trial. In fact, at [the petitioner's] trial [one of the witnesses] testified that he hoped to obtain a reduced sentence by reason of his testimony. Likewise, the prosecutor stated that he would consider the witnesses' cooperation in disposing of their pending cases. The other evidence [the petitioner] offers, [the witness's] affidavit, is suspicious on both a legal and a factual basis, as the district court found. Legally, recanting affidavits are always viewed with extreme suspicion. United States v. Chambers, 944 F.2d 1253, 1264 (6th Cir.1991).... Both prosecutors, moreover, testified at the evidentiary hearing that they made no such deal with [either witness]. All these facts led the district court to find [the witness's] affidavit incredible, and require us to hold that that finding was not clearly erroneous. 78 Id. at 707-08. 79 We find the reasoning in Williams persuasive. Like in Williams, Matthews has not offered sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption of correctness afforded the Ohio Court of Appeals' factual finding. The fact Roulette entered into a favorable plea bargain within two weeks after Matthews's conviction and sentence is not evidence, or is at most weak circumstantial evidence, that a deal existed at the time of trial. See Abdur-Rasheed v. Jones, 100 Fed.Appx. 357 (6th Cir.2004) (relying on Williams and finding that being subsequently charged with a lesser offense is not evidence a witness had a preexisting agreement with the prosecution). Furthermore, like in Williams, the assistant prosecutor testified categorically that there was no preexisting deal with Roulette. Given the assistant prosecutor's admission that he supported Roulette's subsequent plea bargain based partly on his testimony but also out of fear for his safety in prison, the approval of the plea bargain is not unusual or exceptional. Like the assistant prosecutor, the judge who accepted Roulette's plea and sentenced him testified that he did not know of any preexisting deal for testimony, although he was aware Roulette received some consideration for his testimony. When considered in this context, the judge's comments made during Roulette's hearing are not direct evidence of a preexisting agreement, but only of his understanding that one of the bases for the plea agreement was the defendant's prior cooperation. Finally, like in Williams, we view Roulette's recanting testimony with extreme suspicion. Simply put, Matthews has failed to come forward with sufficient direct or circumstantial evidence to rebut the state court's finding of no preexisting deal. 80 As Matthews has failed to show the existence of preexisting deal, his Brady claim necessarily fails. IV 81 For the preceding reasons, we REVERSE the district court's grant of conditional habeas corpus to Matthews and direct the district court to dismiss his petition.