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Ewell v. Scribner

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEAL FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
Aug 1, 2012
490 F. App'x 891 (9th Cir. 2012)

Summary

detailing the cases that continue to apply Stone after the enactment of AEDPA and rejecting Carlson as a basis for finding that Stone was no longer applicable after the enactment of AEDPA

Summary of this case from Johnson v. Turner

Opinion

No. 11-15388 D.C. No. 1:06-cv-00186-AWI-MJS

08-01-2012

DANA EWELL, Petitioner - Appellant, v. A.K. SCRIBNER, Respondent - Appellee.


NOT FOR PUBLICATION


MEMORANDUM

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.


Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of California

Anthony W. Ishii, District Judge, Presiding


San Francisco, California

Before: PAEZ and BYBEE, Circuit Judges, and VANCE, Chief District Judge.

The Honorable Sarah S. Vance, Chief District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, sitting by designation.
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Dana Ewell appeals the district court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253, and we affirm.

Ewell contends that the state appellate court erred in rejecting his claim that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the admission of evidence obtained from a cloned pager. A federal court may review Fourth Amendment claims in habeas corpus proceedings only if the state court proceeding denied the applicant an "opportunity for full and fair litigation of a Fourth Amendment claim." Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 482 (1976). Because the state courts heard and considered Ewell's Fourth Amendment claim, Ewell was afforded a full and fair opportunity to litigate it. See Moormann v. Schriro, 426 F.3d 1044, 1053 (9th Cir. 2005); Ortiz-Sandoval v. Gomez, 81 F.3d 891, 899 (9th Cir. 1996); Gordon v. Duran, 895 F.2d 610, 613 (9th Cir. 1990). Accordingly, federal habeas corpus review of this claim is precluded.

Ewell also argues that the state appellate court erred in rejecting his claim that the State's violations of the recording and sealing requirements of Title III, 18 U.S.C. § 2510, et seq., entitled him to Title III's suppression remedy. See 18 U.S.C. § 2518(8)(a). Ewell's claim lacks merit. In order for a state petitioner to assert a statutory claim in federal habeas corpus proceedings, he must demonstrate that the error is "'a fundamental defect which inherently results in a complete miscarriage of justice [or] an omission inconsistent with the rudimentary demands of fair procedure.'" Reed v. Farley, 512 U.S. 339, 348 (1991)(alteration in original)(quoting Hill v. United States, 368 U.S. 424, 428 (1962)). Ewell had a full and fair opportunity to litigate this claim in state court, and therefore fails to demonstrate that any violation of Title III's sealing requirement resulted in a miscarriage of justice, or was an omission inconsistent with the rudimentary demands of fair procedure. See Lord v. Lambert, 347 F.3d 1091, 1094 (9th Cir. 2003). Further, Ewell fails to demonstrate that the evidence used at trial was otherwise unreliable. See id. at 1095. Ewell's Title III claim is therefore not cognizable on habeas corpus review.

Finally, Ewell argues that the state appellate court erred in rejecting his argument that the jury's playback of a cassette tape in the jury room violated his constitutional rights to due process, assistance of counsel, and a fair hearing. The state court's determination that the entire tape was admitted into evidence did not constitute an unreasonable determination of the facts because the record showed that the trial judge admitted the entire tape into evidence. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2). Further, the state court's decision rejecting this claim was neither contrary to nor an "unreasonable application of clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States." See id. § 2254(d)(1); Cullen v. Pinholster, 131 S. Ct. 1388, 1398 (2011). There is no clearly established Supreme Court authority that a jury's playback of a tape that was admitted into evidence violates a defendant's constitutional rights. Further, Ewell fails to show that he was prejudiced by the jury's playing of any portion of the tape not played at trial. The state court's finding that the tape was "inaudible and unintelligible" was not an unreasonable determination of the facts. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2).

AFFIRMED.


Summaries of

Ewell v. Scribner

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEAL FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
Aug 1, 2012
490 F. App'x 891 (9th Cir. 2012)

detailing the cases that continue to apply Stone after the enactment of AEDPA and rejecting Carlson as a basis for finding that Stone was no longer applicable after the enactment of AEDPA

Summary of this case from Johnson v. Turner

discussing cases that have continued to apply Stone after the enactment of AEDPA and rejecting petitioner's reliance upon Carlson and Lawhorn as a basis for finding that Stone was no longer applicable after the enactment of AEDPA

Summary of this case from Johnson v. Turner
Case details for

Ewell v. Scribner

Case Details

Full title:DANA EWELL, Petitioner - Appellant, v. A.K. SCRIBNER, Respondent …

Court:UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEAL FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

Date published: Aug 1, 2012

Citations

490 F. App'x 891 (9th Cir. 2012)

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