Court Opinion

ID: 9499747
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:56:47.979468+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:59:42.361882
License: Public Domain

COFFEY, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
The United States Supreme Court vacated the prior judgment and remanded this case to this court for further proceedings to determine whether to amend our opinion in view of its decision in Carey v. Musladin, — U.S. —, 127 S.Ct. 649, 166 L.Ed.2d 482 (2006). The Majority let stand our opinion in Van Patten v. Deppisch, 434 F.3d 1038 (7th Cir.2006), vacated sub nom. Schmidt v. Van Patten, — U.S. —, 127 S.Ct. 1120, 166 L.Ed.2d 888 (2007).
The Majority Opinion does not comport with Musladin. In Musladin, the court instructed lower courts to read 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1) narrowly. Section 2254 of Title 28 of the United States Code provides that:
(d) An application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall not be granted with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim—
(1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of clearly established Federal Law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States,
28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1).
Lower courts ruling after Musladin have heeded this directive and have denied habeas corpus relief in situations in which state courts did not rule contrary to or unreasonably apply clearly established United States Supreme Court holdings (not dicta). See, e.g., Nguyen v. Garcia, 477 F.3d 716 (9th Cir.2007); Locke v. Cattell, 476 F.3d 46 (1 st Cir.2007); Stewart v. Secretary, Department of Corrections, 476 F.3d 1193 (11th Cir.2007).
To the best of my knowledge, the United States Supreme Court has never held that an attorney is presumed to be ineffective if he participates in a plea hearing by speaker phone rather than by physical appearance. No such case has been cited to us and no factual situation of this nature has *829come to the court’s attention. Thus, I do not conclude that the decision of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals was erroneous. The Majority has not followed the language in Musladin where Justice Thomas, writing for the Court, holds that “given the lack of holdings from this Court regarding the potentially prejudicial effect of spectators’ courtroom conduct” .... “the Court of Appeals improperly concluded that the California Court of Appeal’s decision was contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law as determined by this Court,” Musladin, 127 S.Ct. at 654, In Van Patten’s case the record reveals no prejudice to the petitioner and the petitioner did not object during the proceedings. Therefore, I respectfully DISSENT from the court’s erroneous decision to allow Van Patten v. Deppisch to stand as written.