Court Opinion

ID: 9915223
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-04 21:01:10.773652+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:18:34.492168
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NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION
                                File Name: 24a0002n.06

                                        Case No. 22-2084

                          UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                               FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

                                                                                 FILED
                                                       )                       Jan 04, 2024
ANDREW WOODBURN,                                                       KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk
                                                       )
       Petitioner-Appellant,                           )
                                                       )
                                                                ON APPEAL FROM THE
v.                                                     )
                                                       )        UNITED STATES DISTRICT
                                                       )        COURT FOR THE EASTERN
BRYAN MORRISON, Warden,                                )        DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
       Respondent-Appellee.                            )
                                                       )                             OPINION

Before: MOORE, McKEAGUE, and KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judges.

       McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. A Michigan jury convicted Andrew Woodburn of assault

with intent to commit murder after he crashed his pickup truck into an occupied police car.

Woodburn now seeks habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for ineffective assistance of trial and

appellate counsel. Woodburn argues that his trial lawyer was ineffective for failing to investigate
and raise an involuntary intoxication defense based on unusual interactions between Woodburn’s

prescribed antidepressant and alcohol. He similarly argues that his appellate lawyer was ineffective

for failing to raise that issue on direct appeal. But a Michigan state court already considered

Woodburn’s claims and rejected them on the merits. Because that state-court decision was not

unreasonable, the district court properly denied habeas relief. The district court also properly

denied Woodburn’s request for an evidentiary hearing because the state court adjudicated both

claims on the merits after considering the necessary facts. We AFFIRM.
No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

                                                I.

       In June 2013, police officers arrested Andrew Woodburn after he drank a bottle of rum and

drove his pickup truck into a state trooper’s patrol car. Michigan authorities charged Woodburn

with, among other things, assault with intent to commit murder. State prosecutors alleged that

Woodburn possessed the specific intent to kill the state trooper. See Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.83.

       A.      Trial in State Court

       Woodburn faced trial in a Michigan state court. Shortly before trial began, Woodburn’s

lawyer informed the court that he intended to rely on Woodburn’s prescription medications and

alcohol consumption to argue that Woodburn could not form the requisite intent to kill. But,

applying Michigan law, the state court ruled that voluntary intoxication was not a valid defense to

specific-intent crimes. The court therefore barred any evidence of Woodburn’s medications or

alcohol intoxication if submitted for the purpose of negating intent. Rather, such evidence was

admissible only to help demonstrate that the automobile collision was an accident.

       The evidence at trial painted the following picture:

       Woodburn lived in northern Michigan with his parents. About three weeks before the June

2013 automobile collision, he began taking a prescribed antidepressant called Paxil. At the time,
he was also taking a few other prescribed medications.

       On June 23—the day of the collision—Woodburn took his Paxil around noon. He felt sore

and “had this inclination to get alcohol” because he thought it would make him feel better. Trial

Tr., R.6-6 at PageID 580–81. Woodburn bought a bottle of spiced rum from a nearby grocery store

and drank the entire bottle within a couple hours. When the alcohol’s effects kicked in, an

intoxicated Woodburn started arguing with his parents about his abrupt plan to move to Florida.

       The argument escalated. Woodburn, agitated and increasingly becoming upset, asked his

parents about guns. He wanted some guns because he intended to make money in Florida by

shooting feral hogs. But Woodburn’s mother, Sharon, had removed all guns from the home two

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No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

days earlier and given them to a neighbor for safekeeping. Sharon lied to Woodburn and told him

that the guns were in a storage locker in Gaylord, Michigan. She retreated to her bedroom, and

Woodburn pounded on the door.

       Alarmed by her son’s demeanor, Sharon called 911. She told the dispatcher that Woodburn

was violent and not in his right mind. On the recorded 911 call, Woodburn could be heard in the

background threatening to kill his mother if she called the police. The recording also captured

Woodburn saying that the first officer to respond was “dead” (or perhaps “done”). Sharon

explained to the dispatcher that her son was “going through like a psychotic episode” and would
“kill anybody that’s in his way.” Trial Tr., R.6-4 at PageID 259–60. Woodburn probably had a

machete and some knives, she added. She also warned that her son would likely try to provoke

responding officers into shooting him. By then, Woodburn had left the house and gotten into his

Ford pickup truck. Sharon described the vehicle to the dispatcher.

       A state trooper responded to the 911 call in a marked patrol car. The Woodburns lived on

a one-lane private trail that feeds into a public road. The trooper initially positioned his vehicle on

the public road’s shoulder, close to the intersection with the private trail. He saw Woodburn’s truck

driving on the trail toward the public road. Hoping to stop Woodburn, the trooper activated his

overhead lights and pulled his vehicle one or two car-lengths onto the graveled trail, partially
blocking Woodburn’s access to the larger road. The trooper saw Woodburn throw something out

the driver’s side window and begin to accelerate. At that point, Woodburn’s truck was about 300

to 400 yards away and closing in at approximately 60 miles per hour. Without slowing down or

attempting to maneuver around the patrol car, Woodburn drove his truck head-on into the trooper’s

vehicle. The collision forced the police car into the public road, where it was struck by another

passing car. Woodburn’s truck ended up in a nearby ditch.

       The trooper exited his mangled vehicle, approached the pickup truck, and ordered

Woodburn to get out. Woodburn did not initially comply, but he eventually rolled out of the truck

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No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

and yelled “just shoot me” two or three times. Trial Tr., R.6-6 at PageID 592–93. The trooper tased

Woodburn. Another police officer arrived at the scene, handcuffed Woodburn, and took him into

custody.

       Woodburn testified that he did not intend to kill the trooper. He explained that he simply

wanted to drive down to Gaylord to pick up some guns, and then continue driving to Florida. He

recalled smashing into some posts and hitting a culvert as he drove down the private gravel trail.

According to Woodburn, he spotted the trooper’s patrol car and thought he might get pulled over

for driving under the influence. Woodburn started tossing empty liquor bottles out the driver’s side
window. He testified that he knew “the accelerator was being mashed on at points” and that he

was probably “pushing on it” while reaching down and grabbing empty bottles. Id. at PageID 589.

He added that the thought of hitting the brakes never crossed his mind. But Woodburn attested that

he “didn’t mean to” hit the police car. Id. at PageID 594. Rather, he thought that he “might just be

able to pass this officer” and turn onto the public road. Id. at PageID 598, 611, 615.

       The jury was unpersuaded. It convicted Woodburn of assaulting the trooper with the intent

to murder him. It also convicted Woodburn of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The state

trial court sentenced him for both crimes.

       B.      Direct Appeal in State Court

       Represented by new counsel, Woodburn appealed his conviction and sentence in

Michigan’s court of appeals. Woodburn argued that he received ineffective assistance of trial

counsel because his trial lawyer (1) failed to consult an accident-reconstruction expert, (2)

introduced the nature of Woodburn’s prior conviction, (3) failed to sever Woodburn’s felon-in-

possession charge from his assault-with-intent-to-murder charge, and (4) allowed prosecutors to

introduce as evidence a knife collection that police recovered from Woodburn’s pickup truck.

Woodburn also argued that the trial court improperly calculated his sentence.

                                                -4-
No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

       The court of appeals remanded the case back to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing

on Woodburn’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims. After conducting that evidentiary

hearing, the state trial court denied Woodburn’s request for a new trial and re-imposed his original

sentence. The court of appeals affirmed, and Michigan’s supreme court declined to hear the case.

       C.      State Post-Conviction Proceedings

       Woodburn, represented by his current lawyer, filed a motion for relief from judgment in

the state trial court. The motion raised—for the first time—his prior lawyers’ failure to pursue a

temporary insanity defense based on the involuntarily intoxicating effect of his prescribed Paxil.

Woodburn argued that his trial lawyer was ineffective for failing to consult a psychopharmacology

expert and present the involuntary intoxication defense. Relatedly, he argued that his appellate

lawyer was ineffective for neglecting to raise those trial-counsel deficiencies on direct appeal and

during Woodburn’s subsequent evidentiary hearing.

       Woodburn’s motion relied on a report by Dr. David Healy, a psychopharmacology expert

based in the United Kingdom. Dr. Healy has long studied the effects of Paxil and related

antidepressants. According to his research, those medications have an obscure but well-

documented tendency to induce alcohol cravings. His report concluded that Woodburn’s “behavior

was significantly affected by his Paxil intake, which led to an interaction with alcohol and a
resulting mental state that left him essentially delirious with diminished responsibility for his

actions on the day of the offense.” State Docs., R.6-12 at PageID 1362 (expert report). Among

other things, Dr. Healy opined that Paxil had “most unusually” caused Woodburn to become

involuntarily intoxicated by inducing him to compulsively consume alcohol. Id. at PageID 1359.

       Woodburn also referenced a pair of alcohol-related incidents in the days preceding the

automobile collision. Three days before the collision, Woodburn nearly drowned in a river after

reportedly drinking a fifth of rum. The following day, Woodburn jumped out of a moving car and

was found hours later lying in a field; an emergency-room physician diagnosed Woodburn with

                                               -5-
No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

acute alcohol intoxication. Dr. Healy’s report cited those episodes and reasoned that they

supported his theory that Woodburn was involuntarily intoxicated by Paxil. After all, Woodburn’s

sudden binge drinking started mere weeks after starting his Paxil treatment. He had previously

been sober for several years following his struggle with substance abuse.

       After reviewing the motion and Dr. Healy’s report, the state trial court denied Woodburn’s

request for post-judgment relief. It rejected his ineffective-assistance claims on three separate

grounds: First, Woodburn failed to overcome the presumption that his trial lawyer was

implementing sound trial strategy by avoiding a defense theory that was arguably inconsistent with
Woodburn’s own testimony that the crash was an accident. Second, Woodburn never established

that his lawyers’ failure to investigate and consult an expert regarding Paxil’s side effects was

unreasonable under prevailing professional norms. Finally, Woodburn likely lacked a viable

involuntary intoxication defense under Michigan law. The state’s court of appeals and supreme

court both declined to review the trial court’s decision.

       D.      Federal Habeas Proceedings

       Woodburn petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court. He raised the

same two claims that he had brought in his state-court motion for relief from judgment: his trial

lawyer was ineffective for failing to investigate and present an involuntary intoxication defense,
and his appellate lawyer was ineffective for failing to raise trial counsel’s failure on appeal.

Woodburn also sought an evidentiary hearing to flesh out his claims.

       The district court denied the petition, reasoning that the state court did not unreasonably

reject Woodburn’s claims. It also denied Woodburn’s request for an evidentiary hearing,

concluding that its review was limited to the record before the state court that rejected Woodburn’s

claims on the merits. However, the district judge certified the ineffective-assistance-of-trial-

counsel claim for appeal. This Court, in a single-judge order, expanded our scope of review to

include the appellate-counsel claim. Woodburn now appeals.

                                                -6-
No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

                                                 II.

       Woodburn argues that the district court erred in rejecting his habeas claims for ineffective

assistance of trial and appellate counsel. He also contends that the district court erroneously denied

his request for an evidentiary hearing.

       A.      Habeas Claims for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

       We turn first to Woodburn’s two ineffective-assistance habeas claims. This Court reviews

a district court’s denial of habeas relief de novo. Daniel v. Burton, 919 F.3d 976, 978 (6th Cir.

2019). The district court’s factual findings are reviewed for clear error, and its legal conclusions

on mixed questions of law and fact are reviewed de novo. Id.

       The state court’s underlying decision, however, deserves more deference. A Michigan

court already rejected Woodburn’s ineffective-assistance claims on the merits. To prevail in this

federal habeas action, Woodburn must therefore overcome the heightened standard of review

imposed by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). Relevant here, he must

demonstrate that the state court’s decision to deny his claims involved an “unreasonable

application” of clearly established federal law, as determined by U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1); see also Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 412–13 (2000) (clarifying that

AEDPA imposes a “new constraint” on federal habeas relief where state prisoners’ claims have
been adjudicated in state court).

       Under AEDPA, we cannot disturb the state court’s ruling unless its application of clearly

established federal law was “objectively” unreasonable. Williams, 529 U.S. at 409. That requires

more than a showing that the state court was “incorrect.” Even an incorrect state-court application

of federal law survives our habeas review unless it was also objectively unreasonable. Id. at

410–11. Federal habeas relief is improper whenever “fairminded jurists could disagree” about the

correctness of the state-court decision. Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 101 (2011) (quoting

Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 664 (2004)).

                                                -7-
No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

        And the substantive ineffective-assistance standard poses its own high bar: Woodburn must

satisfy Strickland v. Washington’s two-pronged test to prevail. 466 U.S. 668 (1984). First, he must

prove that counsel’s performance was deficient. That entails a showing that counsel “made errors

so serious” that the lawyer was not functioning as the “counsel” guaranteed by the Constitution.

Id. at 687. Courts approach this highly deferential inquiry with a “strong presumption” that counsel

was furthering a sound strategy. Id. at 689. We afford counsel every benefit of the doubt and

affirmatively consider the range of possible reasons behind counsel’s decisions. Cullen v.

Pinholster, 563 U.S. 170, 196 (2011). Second, Woodburn must also show that counsel’s deficient

performance prejudiced him. Prejudice requires a “reasonable probability” that, but for counsel’s

deficient performance, Woodburn’s case would have ended with a different result. Strickland, 466

U.S. at 694. That probability must be “sufficient to undermine confidence” in the proceeding’s

outcome, but it need not rise to the level of “more likely than not.” Id. at 693–94.

        Strickland’s difficult-to-meet standard is magnified when viewed through the deferential

AEDPA lens. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1); see also Harrington, 562 U.S. at 105 (noting that our

review is “doubly” deferential when both Strickland and § 2254(d) apply). To grant habeas relief,

a federal court must conclude that the state court’s application of Strickland was “unreasonable”—

not just that it was wrong. Knowles v. Mirzayance, 556 U.S. 111, 123 (2009). And because
Strickland’s general standard relies heavily on case-specific considerations, state courts enjoy

particularly wide latitude to reasonably deny ineffective-assistance claims. Id.

                  1.   Trial Counsel

        Woodburn first targets his trial attorney’s performance. He argues that his trial lawyer

provided ineffective assistance by failing to consult a psychopharmacology expert and present an

involuntary intoxication defense. Woodburn contends that such a defense—based on his Paxil

ingestion and the resulting interaction with compulsorily consumed alcohol—was his only viable

trial strategy.

                                                -8-
No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

       That argument failed in state court. Among other things, the state judge determined—and

the district court agreed—that Woodburn likely lacked a viable involuntary intoxication defense

under Michigan law. Therefore, the courts reasoned, Woodburn failed to satisfy either of

Strickland’s two prongs: counsel’s performance was not deficient for failing to raise an

inapplicable defense, and Woodburn was not prejudiced because the defense would likely have

failed anyway.

       As a federal habeas court, we cannot question a state court’s application of state law. E.g.,

Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67–68 (1991); Lewis v. Jeffers, 497 U.S. 764, 780 (1990). Federal
habeas relief is not available for state-law errors. Lewis, 497 U.S. at 780; see also 28 U.S.C.

§ 2254(a) (limiting habeas relief to violations of federal law). We therefore cannot grant habeas

relief for ineffective assistance of counsel when doing so requires a determination that the state

court erred in interpreting its own law. Davis v. Straub, 430 F.3d 281, 290–91 (6th Cir. 2005). That

arguably ends our inquiry in this case altogether. After all, the state court grounded its ineffective-

assistance decision in its interpretation and application of Michigan’s involuntary intoxication

defense. To the extent that we can question the state court’s decision—perhaps as an “unreasonable

determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented” under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2)—we

nevertheless conclude that the state court acted reasonably in denying Woodburn’s claim.1

       The state court explained that Michigan recognizes a temporary insanity defense for

defendants who commit crimes while involuntarily intoxicated by prescribed medications. But, it

continued, Michigan law limits that defense to situations where the defendant lacked reason to

know that the prescribed drug was likely to have its intoxicating effect. In addition, the prescribed

drug—not another substance—must have caused the intoxicating condition. See People v. Caulley,

494 N.W.2d 853, 859 (Mich. Ct. App. 1992). Examining the record, the state court concluded that

Woodburn fell short of satisfying both requirements.

1
  Because this conclusion forecloses Woodburn’s claim, we need not consider the state court’s
alternative grounds for denying relief.
                                                 -9-
No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

       First, the court decided that Woodburn had reason to know about Paxil’s intoxicating

effect. This reasonable finding has plenty of support in the record. Dr. Healy’s report explains that

when Woodburn first tried Paxil in 2004, he became disinhibited and started compulsively

consuming alcohol. Woodburn suspected at the time that there was a link between Paxil and his

alcohol abuse, and he successfully requested a switch to new medications. Woodburn remained

firmly convinced over the years about the connection between Paxil and alcohol abuse. Then, in

2013, Woodburn’s new doctor recommended returning to Paxil—in an even higher dose than

before. Woodburn started taking Paxil again despite his ongoing concerns about its effects. A

psychological report submitted for Woodburn’s state-court resentencing proceeding further

confirms that Woodburn knew about Paxil’s effect on his alcohol consumption and mental state.

       Second, the state court decided that alcohol, not Paxil, caused Woodburn’s intoxication.

No party, after all, disputes that Woodburn drank a substantial amount of rum shortly before the

incident. Nor does anyone dispute that Woodburn knew about rum’s intoxicating properties. In its

order, the court acknowledged that Dr. Healy’s report suggested some primary intoxicating effect

of Paxil itself. However, it found the thrust of the expert’s position to be that Paxil’s secondary

intoxicating effect—i.e., inducing the involuntary consumption of alcohol—was the main culprit.2

But, interpreting Michigan law, the state court rejected Woodburn’s legal theory. “The fact that
Paxil may have heightened Mr. Woodburn’s craving for alcohol,” it concluded, “does not amount

to intoxication.” State Docs., R.6-12 at PageID 1478 (order denying motion).

2
  To be sure, Woodburn argues that Paxil’s primary intoxicating effect must be considered as well.
He notes Dr. Healy’s observation that Paxil can cause compulsive behaviors and disinhibition,
compromise decisionmaking, and trigger aggressive suicidality. But although Dr. Healy opines
that Paxil caused Woodburn to become “confused or disorganized” and crave alcohol, he
concluded that Woodburn’s case likely did not involve “Paxil induced aggression or suicidality.”
State Docs., R.6-12 at PageID 1358, 1362 (expert report). In light of that record, we do not think
the state court was unreasonable when it focused on Paxil’s tendency to cause alcohol cravings.
Moreover, its factual finding that alcohol caused the traffic collision is entitled to a presumption
of correctness—a presumption that Woodburn has not overcome. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2).
                                               - 10 -
No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

        This decision, too, is reasonable. Woodburn cites no Michigan (or other) authorities

validating his involuntary intoxication theory. If anything, Michigan caselaw seems to go the other

way. See People v. Osborn, No. 316228, 2014 WL 5364052, at *3 (Mich. Ct. App. Oct. 21, 2014)

(rejecting involuntary intoxication defense where defendant consumed prescription drug and

alcohol because defendant could not show that the drug—not alcohol—caused the intoxication).

And although at least one Michigan case seemingly endorses an involuntary intoxication defense

for the “unexpected effects of combining alcohol with a prescription medication,” see People v.

Wilkins, 459 N.W.2d 57, 58, 60 (Mich. Ct. App. 1990), that lends no clear support to a situation

where one intoxicant is alleged to have caused the consumption of another. True, Woodburn also

appears to argue that simultaneous interactions between Paxil and alcohol created a more

pronounced intoxicated state than one would expect from alcohol alone. But that argument cannot

escape the state court’s reasonable finding that drinking a bottle of rum immediately before the

incident caused Woodburn’s intoxication.

        Given the state court’s conclusion that Woodburn likely lacked a viable involuntary

intoxication defense under state law, it reasonably determined that Woodburn cannot satisfy

Strickland. At best, Woodburn’s involuntary intoxication defense constituted a novel and untested

theory. His trial lawyer was well within his considerable discretion to proceed instead on a theory
that the automobile crash was an accident. See Alexander v. Smith, 311 F. App’x 875, 887 (6th

Cir. 2009) (holding that counsel’s failure to “present a novel legal argument when the caselaw is

ambiguous” is not ineffective assistance); see also Harrington, 562 U.S. at 110 (stressing that

counsel cannot be faulted for making a “reasonable miscalculation” or failing to prepare for

seemingly remote possibilities). And given the low likelihood of the defense’s success, Woodburn

fell short of establishing a reasonable probability of a different trial result.

                                                 - 11 -
No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

               2.      Appellate Counsel

       Woodburn next argues that his appellate lawyer was also ineffective—both on appeal and

during the state-court evidentiary hearing on remand—for failing to raise the above-described

deficiencies in trial counsel’s performance. But because Woodburn’s underlying trial-counsel

claim itself lacks merit, we reject his appellate-counsel claim as well.

       The Constitution guarantees criminal defendants the effective assistance of counsel in their

first appeal by right. Evitts v. Lucey, 469 U.S. 387, 396–97 (1985). Michigan affords its criminal
defendants the right to appeal an adverse judgment following trial, see Mich. Comp. Laws

§ 770.3(a), so Woodburn is entitled to relief if he can satisfy Strickland’s two-pronged standard.

As with his ineffective-assistance-of-trial-counsel claim, Woodburn must show that his appellate

lawyer’s representation “fell below an objective standard of reasonableness” and that the lawyer’s

deficient performance prejudiced him. Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. 470, 476–77 (2000)

(quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688). Moreover, AEDPA’s extra layer of deference still constrains

our review. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). We cannot grant habeas relief unless the state court was

“objectively unreasonable” when it rejected Woodburn’s appellate-counsel claim on the merits.

Mahdi v. Bagley, 522 F.3d 631, 636 (6th Cir. 2008) (citation omitted).

       Under that framework, the state court reasonably applied Strickland to reject Woodburn’s
appellate-counsel claim. After all, Woodburn’s appellate lawyer cannot be deemed ineffective for

neglecting to raise a meritless issue. See Wilson v. Mitchell, 498 F.3d 491, 514–15 (6th Cir. 2007).

As we concluded above, the state court reasonably rejected Woodburn’s underlying trial-counsel

claim—the sole basis for his derivative appellate-counsel claim. That alone forecloses both

Strickland prongs: appellate counsel was not required to pursue the non-meritorious trial-counsel

claim, Jalowiec v. Bradshaw, 657 F.3d 293, 321 (6th Cir. 2011), and Woodburn can hardly

demonstrate a reasonable probability of reversal, see id. at 322.

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No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

       B.      Evidentiary Hearing

       Finally, Woodburn seeks an evidentiary hearing to expand the record. At such a hearing,

he intends to present testimony from Dr. Healy and other witnesses to bolster his Paxil-based

ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims.

       We review the district court’s denial of Woodburn’s requested evidentiary hearing for an

abuse of discretion. Black v. Carpenter, 866 F.3d 734, 742 (6th Cir. 2017). Though AEDPA often

constrains district courts’ authority to grant evidentiary hearings, see, e.g., Shinn v. Ramirez, 596
U.S. 366, 381–82 (2022), district courts enjoy more leeway in denying such hearings. Whenever a

federal court “is able to resolve a habeas claim on the record before it, it may do so without holding

an evidentiary hearing.” Black, 866 F.3d at 742. And where AEDPA precludes federal courts from

considering new evidence at all, the district court must deny an evidentiary hearing. Such a hearing

would “needlessly prolong” federal habeas proceedings. Shoop v. Twyford, 596 U.S. 811, 820

(2022) (quoting Shinn, 596 U.S. at 390).

       With that in mind, the district court properly denied Woodburn’s request for an evidentiary

hearing. Critically, a state court already adjudicated his claims on the merits. See 28 U.S.C.

§ 2254(d). Federal habeas review of such claims falls under § 2254(d) and “is limited to the record

that was before the state court.” Cullen v. Pinholster, 563 U.S. 170, 181 (2011); see Shoop, 596
U.S. at 819. Notably, the record before the state court included Dr. Healy’s report and other

evidence supporting Woodburn’s two ineffective-assistance claims. Neither this Court nor the

district court can consider additional evidence in reviewing the reasonableness of the state court’s

resulting decision. See Shoop, 596 U.S. at 819–20; see also Hodges v. Colson, 727 F.3d 517, 541

(6th Cir. 2013).

       Woodburn disagrees. He directs us to § 2254(e)(2), a neighboring AEDPA provision. That

subsection bars (with limited exceptions) evidentiary hearings for habeas petitioners who “failed

to develop” the factual basis of their claims in state court. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2). Then, citing the

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No. 22-2084, Woodburn v. Morrison

Supreme Court’s Williams v. Taylor decision, Woodburn correctly notes that a habeas petitioner

does not “fail” to develop his facts if external forces stymie his diligent efforts to do so. 529 U.S.

420, 436–37 (2000). Thus, Woodburn concludes, an evidentiary hearing is permissible because

the state courts unreasonably denied his claims without allowing him to fully develop his facts.

       That argument is unpersuasive. Woodburn rightly says that he never “failed to develop”

the factual record under § 2254(e)(2). But unlike in Williams, Woodburn’s efforts to develop his

facts were not frustrated by outside forces—or by any forces at all. Rather, Woodburn succeeded

in developing the record. The state court considered all the facts necessary for deciding
Woodburn’s Paxil-based claims, including Dr. Healy’s expert report. It then adjudicated those

claims on the merits. Indeed, Woodburn concedes that he “can satisfy § 2254(d)’s deferential

standard of review based on the state record alone.” Appellant’s Br. 66. Because Woodburn

properly developed the factual basis of his claims in state court, § 2254(e)(2) is inapplicable. And,

under § 2254(d), we limit our review to the facts before the state court. The district court did not

err in denying Woodburn an evidentiary hearing.

                                                 III.

       For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the district court’s order.

                                                - 14 -