Opinion ID: 778669
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sawyer v. Hofbauer

Text: 18 Sawyer's claims to habeas relief rest chiefly on the existence of a semen stain found on Miller's underwear that contained saliva. Sawyer maintains that this evidence is relevant because Miller performed fellatio on the perpetrator after which he handled her panties while the victim was blindfolded. J.A. I at 130-31. The State of Michigan contends that the particular facts of the case render this evidence irrelevant, inasmuch as Miller testified that she was forced to swallow Sawyer's discharge and that her underwear w[as] lying on the other side of the car from where the assault occurred. Respondent's Br. I at 28-29. 19 At trial, Kyle Ann Hoskins, a laboratory scientist for the Michigan State Police, stated during nontestimonial colloquy that she had discovered traces of semen on Miller's underwear, but that Detective Sergeant Clifton L. Edwards (Edwards), the lead investigator in the case, had instructed her that additional analysis of the stain would not be necessary. According to the prosecutor, Edwards indicated that the semen had been deposited by a boyfriend. The fact that the police had in fact tested the semen stain against Sawyer's blood type and obtained a negative result was discovered only after defense counsel made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in 1994, two years after the trial. Sawyer then raised the Brady claim in his direct appeal, which the state courts rejected.
20 Sawyer argues that the district court should have held an evidentiary hearing on the negative result of the semen stain because the state courts failed to accord him a full and fair hearing on the issue. We have previously recognized the discretion and inherent authority that a district court always has in habeas cases to order evidentiary hearings to settle disputed issues of material fact. Abdur'Rahman v. Bell, 226 F.3d 696, 706 (2000), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 122 S.Ct. 386, 151 L.Ed.2d 294 (2001). In enacting AEDPA, Congress placed restrictions on this discretion to hold an evidentiary hearing. A petitioner who fail[s] to develop the factual basis of a claim in State court proceedings is not entitled to a federal evidentiary hearing unless he meets certain stringent requirements. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2). In Michael Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 420, 120 S.Ct. 1479, 146 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), the Supreme Court interpreted the opening clause of § 2254(e)(2) as follows: a failure to develop the factual basis of a claim is not established unless there is lack of diligence, or some greater fault, attributable to the prisoner or the prisoner's counsel. Id. at 432. The Williams Court then explained that a finding of diligence would depend[] upon whether the prisoner made a reasonable attempt, in light of the information available at the time, to investigate and pursue claims in state court. Id. at 435. 21 Sawyer alleges that he first learned about the existence of the semen stain on Miller's underwear from a police report that was delivered to defense counsel one or two days before trial. Petitioner's Br. I at 5. When this issue was brought before the trial court, the prosecutor indicated that the police had instructed its laboratory scientist not to test the sample because it had been deposited by Miller's boyfriend. See supra. Defense counsel sought forensic testing of the semen stain during and after trial. In November 1994, while this case was before the Michigan Court of Appeals on direct appeal, defense counsel learned about the negative test result pursuant to a FOIA request. Defense counsel then filed a motion for consideration of the recently discovered Brady violation ... as an issue on appeal. J.A. I at 130. When the state courts rejected this argument, 1 Sawyer filed the instant habeas petition in the district court. We therefore conclude that AEDPA's standard for an evidentiary hearing does not apply because Sawyer was diligent in pursuing his Brady claim in the Michigan courts. 22 The question before us, then, is whether the district court abused its discretion in denying Sawyer an evidentiary hearing in federal court. We have indicated that a habeas petitioner is generally entitled to such a hearing if he alleges sufficient grounds for release, relevant facts are in dispute, and the state courts did not hold a full and fair evidentiary hearing. Stanford v. Parker, 266 F.3d 442, 459 (6th Cir.2001) (quoting Wilson v. Kemna, 12 F.3d 145, 146 (8th Cir.1994)), petition for cert. filed, ___ U.S.L.W. ___ (U.S. Apr. 29, 2002) (No. 01-10008). 23 Sawyer petitions this court for habeas relief on the basis of an alleged violation of Brady, which requires the prosecution to provide evidence that is both favorable to the defendant and material to his guilt or innocence. Brady, 373 U.S. at 87. Favorable evidence is material if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 433, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995) (quoting United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985)). The relevant question is whether Sawyer in the absence of material evidence received a fair trial, understood as a trial resulting in a verdict worthy of confidence. Id. at 434. 24 The undisclosed negative result of the test on the semen stain is exculpatory if Sawyer can establish that the perpetrator of the crime for which he was convicted was the source of the semen on Miller's underwear. The Michigan Court of Appeals doubted whether Sawyer could make such a showing: 25 The facts of the crime in this case were unlikely to have resulted in a semen deposit on complainant's underwear. Defendant's exculpatory theory about the evidence is highly speculative and reversal is not required on this basis. Moreover, defendant's speculative theory would have required complainant to testify concerning consensual sexual activity with her boyfriend in direct violation of the rape shield statute. 26 People v. Sawyer, 215 Mich.App. 183, 545 N.W.2d 6, 11 (1996) (per curiam) (citations omitted). However, Miller testified to wearing clean clothing on the day of the attack and then giving those clothes to state troopers after the attack. She also testified that the perpetrator had handed her clothing and underwear back to her after making her take them off. Therefore, the existence of a semen stain on Miller's underwear from a source other than Sawyer would have been favorable to him. Although the allegation at trial was that the sole act of sexual penetration was one of fellatio, the perpetrator could have wiped or cleaned himself with Miller's underwear before handing it back to Miller. 27 The negative test result, which was thus exculpatory, was also material to Sawyer's guilt or innocence. As the State of Michigan itself acknowledges, the evidence against Sawyer cannot fairly be described as overwhelming. Respondent's Br. I at 29. Because juries may convict a defendant only if the prosecution proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, it is reasonably probable that the disclosure of a semen stain on Miller's underwear from a source other than Sawyer would have changed the result of Sawyer's trial. 2 28 Having determined that Sawyer has alleged sufficient grounds for release, we next consider whether relevant facts are in dispute. The fact that Sawyer was not the source of the semen stain on Miller's underwear is beyond dispute. Other facts, such as the identity of the person who deposited the semen, are in dispute. However, they are not relevant to the disposition of this case. A prosecutor violates due process when he suppresses evidence that is favorable to an accused and material either to guilt or to punishment. Brady, 373 U.S. at 87. It is simply irrelevant whether that or other evidence is unfavorable to someone other than the defendant. The alleged Brady violation in this case involves the suppression of the negative test result, which is clearly established by the record before us and which an evidentiary hearing would only confirm. Therefore, instead of remanding this case to the district court, we will examine the merits of Sawyer's Brady claim.
29 Sawyer argues that we should not defer to the state court's denial of this claim because he was not afforded a full and fair hearing on the issue of the semen stain. We have not yet addressed the question whether a full and fair hearing is a prerequisite to the application of AEDPA's more deferential standards. However, because Sawyer's Brady claim has merit even under AEDPA's standards, we leave for another day the question of AEDPA's applicability in the absence of a full and fair hearing in the state courts. 30 Under clearly established Supreme Court precedent, a defendant is entitled to evidence that is both favorable to him and material to his guilt or innocence. Brady, 373 U.S. at 87. In this case, the prosecution failed to provide the negative test result of the semen stain on Miller's underwear. We have previously discussed why this evidence was favorable and material. The state court's discussion of Sawyer's Brady claim, however, focused on the fact that the trial court refused to order DNA testing of a semen stain on [Miller]'s underpants; it did not address the fact that the police had tested the semen stain against Sawyer's blood type, obtained a negative result, and then suppressed this evidence. Sawyer, 545 N.W.2d at 11. Yet it was the suppression of the negative test result that gave rise to Sawyer's Brady claim, because the mere existence of the semen stain was disclosed to defense counsel before trial. We conclude that the Michigan courts' inapposite analysis — indeed, its complete failure even to identify the evidence that was suppressed — was an unreasonable application of Brady and therefore reverse the district court's denial of habeas relief on this claim.