Clark v. Chappell, No. 14-99005 (9th Cir. 2019)
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Petitioner appealed the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas corpus petition challenging his conviction and capital sentence for first degree murder and rape of a fifteen year old girl. The Ninth Circuit applied the habeas standards in effect prior to the implementation of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996; petitioner's numerous ineffective assistance of counsel claims, governed by Strickland v. Washington, were unavailing because he did not show that trial counsel's performance fell below an objective reasonableness standard at the time of the trial in 1987; petitioner failed to show prejudice in the few instances where counsel's performance was deficient; and petitioner's conflict of interest claim under Mickens v. Taylor, 535 U.S. 162, 171 (2002), were unpersuasive.
However, the panel held that the issue of juror misconduct must be remanded to the district court in light of the panel's recent decision in Godoy v. Spearman, 861 F.3d 956 (9th Cir. 2017) (en banc). The panel otherwise denied habeas relief and affirmed the district court's denial of evidentiary hearings for all claims.
Court Description: Habeas Corpus/Death Penalty. The panel affirmed in part and vacated in part the district court’s denial of Richard Dean Clark’s habeas corpus petition challenging his California conviction and capital sentence for the first-degree murder and rape of a 15-year- old, and remanded to the district court for reconsideration of one issue in light of Godoy v. Spearman, 861 F.3d 956 (9th Cir. 2017) (en banc). Because the habeas petition was filed before April 24, 1996, the panel applied the standards in effect prior to the implementation of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. The panel held that Clark’s five certified ineffective- assistance-of-counsel claims are unavailing because (1) Clark did not show that trial counsel’s performance fell below an objective reasonableness standard at the time of trial or (2) in the few instances in which counsel’s conduct was deficient, Clark has not shown that there is a reasonable probability that the outcome would have been different. In light of Godoy, the panel remanded for further proceedings on Clark’s certified claim that his rights to due process and an impartial jury were violated when a juror communicated with his minister. CLARK V. CHAPPELL 3 The panel rejected the state’s argument that three of Clark’s ten uncertified claims are procedurally barred from federal review, and granted a certificate of appealability on six of the uncertified claims. Affirming the district court’s denial of habeas relief on two claims, the panel concluded that Clark did not establish any actual conflict of interest that adversely affected his representation. Affirming the district court’s denial of Clark’s claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to present life history evidence at the penalty phase, the panel concluded that trial counsel’s presentation of life history evidence was not deficient. Affirming the district court’s denial of Clark’s claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to rebut a jailhouse report, the panel concluded that counsel’s performance was not deficient. Affirming the district court’s denial of Clark’s claim that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to be present for critical stages of the proceedings, the panel concluded that Clark did not explain how his presence at two meetings regarding possible conflicts of interest with counsel had a reasonably “substantial relationship” to his ability to defend himself. Affirming the district court’s denial of Clark’s claim that habeas relief is warranted under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), because the prosecution failed to disclose two pieces of exculpatory evidence, the panel concluded that there is not a reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different if the evidence had been disclosed to the defense. The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of relief on Clark’s claim that cumulative errors denied him a fair trial. The panel denied a COA on the remaining uncertified claims. The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of evidentiary hearings for all claims except the juror misconduct claim as to which the district court will 4 CLARK V. CHAPPELL determine on remand whether an evidentiary hearing is warranted.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on January 31, 2020.
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