Court Opinion

ID: 9497899
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:03:07.127779+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:58:29.513447
License: Public Domain

FLAUM, Chief Judge,
concurring.
I join in the Court’s opinion as to each of petitioner’s claims. While I agree that Hayes has not demonstrated that a “miscarriage of justice” will occur if the procedural default of his ineffective assistance of counsel claim is not excused, I comment separately to underscore what I understand to be the basis of this holding.
Section 2254(e) permits an evidentiary hearing in federal court on a defaulted claim if the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient to establish that but for the alleged constitutional error, “no reasonable factfinder would have found the applicant guilty of the underlying offense.” A court may consider any relevant evidence in making this determination. See Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 327-28, 115 S.Ct. 851, 130 L.Ed.2d 808 (1995) (“In *940assessing the adequacy of petitioner’s showing ... the district court is not bound by the rules of admissibility that would govern at .trial.... The habeas court must make its determination concerning the petitioner’s innocence in light of all the evidence.”) (internal quotations omitted).
In support of his petition, Hayes presented the grand jury testimony of six family members. Although each testified to seeing Hayes at home near the time of the crime, none could attest to being in his presence continuously during the relevant period. Hayes did not offer any witness affidavits stating that he could not have left the house during this time or any other evidence that might support a complete alibi defense. The evidence presented simply was insufficient to satisfy petitioner’s burden of establishing that no reasonable factfinder would have found him guilty.
This is not to suggest that eyewitness testimony can never satisfy the “miscarriage of justice” standard. In Schlup, the Supreme Court noted that “trustworthy eyewitness accounts” may be enough. 513 U.S. at 324, 115 S.Ct. 851. There, the petitioner presented favorable affidavits of prison inmates who had witnessed the offense of conviction and a former prison lieutenant who had observed the petitioner’s demeanor near the time of the crime. Even though there was some reason to doubt the credibility of these witnesses, and their affidavits were contradicted by the trial testimony of other eyewitnesses, the Court remanded the case for reconsideration by the district court.
The majority observes that “it is black letter law that testimony of a single eyewitness suffices for conviction even if 20 bishops testify that the eyewitness is a liar.” Nonetheless, the mere existence of sufficient evidence to convict is not determinative of an actual innocence claim. Schlup, 513 U.S. at 330, 115 S.Ct. 851. Unlike a review of the sufficiency of the evidence which focuses on whether a rational juror could have convicted, a habeas court considering actual innocence may weigh any new evidence against that which was presented at trial and even make credibility assessments in determining whether rational jurors would have convicted. Id. I do not understand our decision today to disturb this established law or to categorically preclude relief from procedural default where an actual innocence claim is based solely on new eyewitness evidence. Although documentary or biological evidence may carry more weight in some cases, a petitioner’s burden may be satisfied with other types of evidence as well.