Opinion ID: 779125
Heading Depth: 7
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Cause/Suppression

Text: 99 The Tennessee appeals court found that Hutchison had received the alleged Brady materials prior to his first postconviction hearing. See Hutchison, 1997 WL 776342, at . As it explained: 100 Petitioner candidly admits that he had access to the alleged  Brady  material prior to the hearing on the first petition for postconviction relief. There is no evidence in the record to suggest that Petitioner was not provided an opportunity for the presentation of claims at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner as required by Burford, 845 S.W.2d at 208. 101 Id. Giving deference to this factual finding, as required by AEDPA, the district court concluded that Hutchison had access to the Brady material prior to his first postconviction hearing. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1). Because Hutchison could not show that his failure to present these claims was due to suppression rather than his own neglect, the district court concluded that Hutchison could not show cause for the default. 102 We agree with the district court. Hutchison has not presented clear and convincing evidence that he did not possess the first group of Brady materials prior to his first hearing. There is no affidavit or testimony from Hutchison's postconviction counsel regarding the timing of the prosecution's disclosures. Nor is there any documentary evidence addressing this question. The only item in the record cited by Hutchison to support his claim is the state's reply to his traverse in opposition to summary judgment filed before the district court. In replying to Hutchison's contention that a factual dispute existed over whether the files were provided prior to or at the first postconviction hearing, the state responded that the dispute could be eliminated by amending the phrase to read `immediately prior to' the hearing. Respondent is not asserting that the records were provided days or weeks before the hearing. J.A. at 369-70. 103 The record also supports the district court's conclusion that the materials were not suppressed prior to the first postconviction hearing. Hutchison's brief to the state criminal appeals court said of the Brady materials presented in Hutchison's second postconviction petition that [t]hese items were part of a large volume of documents that the appellant was allowed to examine before the hearing on the original post conviction petition; however, the appellant and his counsel were not given adequate time to examine and utilize the same in order to make the same part of the original hearing. J.A. at 137 (emphasis added). Moreover, in an appearance before the postconviction court prior to Hutchison's first postconviction hearing, counsel for Hutchison requested a continuance, explaining that [t]here are records of various law enforcement agencies, including the District Attorney's office, that I have not had an opportunity to review. J.A. at 857. The district court interpreted this statement to imply that Hutchison had received the district attorney's file by September 8, 1995, seventeen days before Hutchison's initial postconviction hearing. Dist. Ct. Op. at 54. In addition, during oral argument on Hutchison's second state postconviction petition, Hutchison's counsel stated that the materials that make up the basis for the Petition were not materials that were furnished by the State in discovery in the original trial. These were materials that were obtained by myself in the process of preparing for the second, or the Petition for Post Conviction Relief for hearing. J.A. at 879. Although syntactically confusing, this statement suggests that the materials were disclosed during the preparation of the first postconviction petition. 104 Even if Hutchison did not receive the district attorney's file in time to raise the Brady claims in his first postconviction petition, he cannot show cause to excuse his failure to file his second petition within the one-year statute of limitations. Hutchison, 1997 WL 776342, at . Under the Post-Conviction Procedure Act of 1995, Hutchison had until May 10, 1996, to bring a timely petition for postconviction relief. See Carter, 952 S.W.2d at 419. Under any account of the facts, Hutchison received the first group of alleged Brady materials no later than September 27, 1995. He filed his second state postconviction petition on August 1, 1996. Hutchison has provided no credible explanation for his failure to raise these claims before the statute of limitations expired on May 10, 1996. We therefore find Hutchison has not demonstrated sufficient material facts to show cause for his procedural default. 105