Opinion ID: 200987
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Neverson's Habeas Claims

Text: 46 Our conclusion that Neverson's petition was untimely marks the end of his attack on his Massachusetts conviction. Nevertheless, because our decision will result in Neverson's permanent removal from the United States, 14 and because the Supreme Court's eventual opinion in Pliler v. Ford, supra, might alter our view of the equitable tolling question, we wish to be clear that there is no merit to Neverson's underlying habeas claims. 47 First, the district court properly rejected Neverson's Sixth Amendment challenge to the state trial judge's limitation of Dr. Masi's proposed testimony. The Sixth Amendment does not prevent state trial judges from requiring a defendant's compliance with rules of evidence, as long as those rules are not arbitrary or disproportionate to the purposes they are designed to serve. United States v. Scheffer, 523 U.S. 303, 308, 118 S.Ct. 1261, 140 L.Ed.2d 413 (1998). A rule preventing experts from testifying beyond their qualifications is neither. And even if the state court erred in barring Dr. Masi's testimony as a matter of Massachusetts evidence law — a proposition that the district court felt strains the bounds of common sense, 242 F.Supp.2d at 87 — habeas relief is not available for violations of state law. Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67-68, 112 S.Ct. 475, 116 L.Ed.2d 385 (1991). 48 Second, Neverson has no Sixth Amendment claim that his trial counsel was ineffective, even if we were to bypass the procedural default issues identified by the district court, see 242 F.Supp.2d at 87-88, and overlook AEDPA's narrow standard of review for claims adjudicated by the state courts, see 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). Neverson's principal claim of ineffective assistance boils down to an assertion that his lawyer should have retained a medical expert who could offer the testimony that Dr. Masi was barred from giving ( i.e., that the baby's death could have been caused by a fall from the top bunk). The state trial court, however, said that Neverson offered nothing but unsubstantiated speculation that ... expert testimony on those issues could have been obtained. In his habeas petition, Neverson says that a person with the necessary expertise was available to testify. But he has not offered any evidence of what that person would have said, let alone shown that the lack of such testimony materially prejudiced his defense. See 242 F.Supp.2d at 91. Moreover, whether to call a particular expert is normally the sort of strategic decision that is reserved for trial counsel. Neverson's fallback ineffective assistance theories are likewise unpersuasive. 49 Finally, Neverson's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence is meritless. The claim would fail on de novo review, let alone under AEDPA. Cf. 28 U.S.C. §§ 2254(d), (e)(1). As the district court found, Neverson's argument amounted to a specious attack on the admissibility of the medical examiner['s testimony] and a brief speculative assault on the possible inferences one might draw from the testimony of experts. 242 F.Supp.2d at 94. The evidence was more than sufficient for a reasonable jury to conclude that Neverson caused the death of his baby. See Neverson, 619 N.E.2d at 345-46. His remaining assignments of error in his state conviction are likewise without merit.
50 This leaves Neverson's § 2241 claims against the INS respondents. In their brief to this court, the INS respondents argued that the district court never actually permitted Neverson to amend his habeas petition to challenge his final order of deportation. That assertion is flatly contradicted by the record, as counsel for the INS acknowledged at oral argument. Such misrepresentations of the record are poor advocacy and waste both the court's and other litigants' time. We expect better from counsel, including government counsel. Cf. Thomas v. Digital Equip. Corp., 880 F.2d 1486, 1490-91 (1st Cir.1989) (sanctioning a party that made material misrepresentations of the record in its appellate brief). 51 In any event, Neverson's § 2241 claims provide no basis for vacating his deportation order. First, Neverson has withdrawn his argument that the INS's use of his manslaughter conviction as a ground for deportation represents an unauthorized retroactive application of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). See Choeum v. INS, 129 F.3d 29, 37 (1st Cir.1997) (holding that an IJ or BIA decision that occurs after September 30, 1996 is an action taken that triggers IIRIRA's aggravated felony rules). Second, to the extent Neverson's § 2241 petition sought his release on bail pending his removal, our decision today has rendered his argument moot. 52 Finally, Neverson argues that the IJ abused her discretion by denying discretionary relief from deportation under § 212(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, see 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h), due to extreme hardship to his citizen family members. We doubt that this claim is cognizable in a § 2241 proceeding. See Saint Fort v. Ashcroft, 329 F.3d 191, 203 (1st Cir.2003) (an alien may use § 2241 to challenge the INS's refusal to consider him for discretionary relief, but not to challenge the agency's refusal to exercise its discretion favorably). Regardless, the argument is without merit. The IJ exhaustively reviewed the evidence relevant to Neverson's request for a waiver under § 212(h) and concluded that Neverson could not make the requisite showing of extreme hardship. There was no error.