Opinion ID: 524119
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: claims iii and iv: plain error in previously decided issues

Text: 56 The Court notes that Claims III and IV of the present petition for writ of habeas have been presented to this Court and to the Eleventh Circuit in a prior petition. Julius v. Johnson, 840 F.2d 1533, as amended, 854 F.2d 400 (11th Cir.1988). However, since the doctrine of res judicata does not apply to habeas corpus, Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. 1, 8, 83 S.Ct. 1068, 1073, 10 L.Ed.2d 148 (1963), the Court must determine whether the ends of justice would be served by redetermining these issues in the present proceeding. The burden lies with the petitioner to demonstrate that a reconsideration would serve the ends of justice. Bass v. Wainwright, 675 F.2d 1204, 1206 (11th Cir.1982). Although what circumstances would mandate a reconsideration has never been fully catalogued, see Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. at 17, 83 S.Ct. at 1078, the Eleventh Circuit has held that where a legal conclusion reached in a prior habeas proceeding was plainly erroneous, then such a claim requires redetermination. See, e.g., Raulerson v. Wainwright, 753 F.2d 869, 874 (11th Cir.1985). In the case at bar, petitioner asserts that the legal conclusions as to the issues of failure to instruct on a lesser included offense and ineffective assistance of counsel were plainly erroneous in that they were based on a mistaken analysis of the underlying facts. For the reasons stated below, this Court finds that the Eleventh Circuit's legal conclusions were not plainly erroneous and therefore that the ends of justice would not be served by the redetermination of the third and fourth claims of the present petition. 57
58 Petitioner argues that he was entitled to an instruction on the lesser included offense of manslaughter because the State's evidence as to malice is capable of more than one reasonable inference, one of which is that malice did not exist. In deciding this question the Eleventh Circuit stated:  'Due process requires that a lesser included offense instruction be given only when the evidence warrants such an instruction.' [Hopper v. Evans, 456 U.S. 605, 611, 102 S.Ct. 2049, 2052, 72 L.Ed.2d 367 (1981) (emphasis in original).] Julius did not present any evidence suggesting that this crime was a manslaughter, nor did he suggest such a verdict during closing arguments ... Julius v. Johnson, 840 F.2d at 1545. Petitioner contends that he did suggest a verdict of manslaughter during closing arguments and that, although he did not personally present evidence of manslaughter, the State's evidence left such a conclusion open to a reasonable jury. 59 Whether Julius' counsel argued that proof of malice was absent from the State's evidence is immaterial to the decision in question since, in the paragraph preceding the one containing the alleged error, the Eleventh Circuit stated: Beck v. Alabama requires the giving of a lesser included offense instruction only where 'there was evidence which, if believed, could reasonably have led to a verdict of a lesser offense.'  Id. at 1545. The legal question thus turns on the evidence presented at trial, and not the arguments of defense counsel. 60 The Eleventh Circuit noted that Julius did not present any evidence which would suggest that the crime was manslaughter. Such emphasis on petitioner's failure to produce evidence is clarified by the fact that the court there was addressing the argument that the circumstances of the crime, without any supporting testimony, could have warranted a manslaughter conviction. Id. at 1544. Petitioner again argues that he had no obligation to present evidence to support such a charge since a reasonable jury could infer such a result from the evidence presented by the prosecution. Petitioner asserts that, since the evidence presented might support the reasonable inference of consensual sexual activity, [o]ne could reasonably have inferred that the attack was the result of provocation even though the particular provocation was unknown. Petition for Writ of Habeas at 49. This Court does not address the case law cited by petitioner to support his renewed argument, since it appears that, as a primary hurdle, there must be evidence submitted at trial to support a charge of a lesser included offense. Petitioner seeks to overcome this hurdle by arguing that, given that the sexual encounter may have been consensual, such evidence supports an inference of a lesser included offense. However, even petitioner recognizes that in order to reduce an offense from murder to manslaughter, there must be evidence of sufficient provocation. Petition for Writ of Habeas at 47, citing Julius v. State, 455 So.2d 975, 979 (Ala.Ct.Crim.App.1983). Where, as here, the entire record is devoid of evidence of any provocation, much less sufficient provocation, the conclusion of the Eleventh Circuit appears to be clearly correct, rather than plainly erroneous. Therefore, the ends of justice do not mandate that this claim be redetermined on the merits. 61
62 Petitioner claims that he was denied the right to effective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel failed to request an instruction limiting the jury's consideration of his 1972 murder conviction in the guilt phase of his trial. The Eleventh Circuit previously held that this failure did constitute ineffective assistance of counsel, but that such failure did not prejudice petitioner given the overwhelming, albeit circumstantial, evidence at trial. Julius v. Johnson, 840 F.2d at 1541. Given this Court's analysis of all of petitioner's claims up to this point, the conclusion of the Eleventh Circuit appears correct. Therefore, the ends of justice do not mandate a redetermination of this issue. 63