White v. Warden

VINCENT D. WHITE, JR., Petitioner, v. WARDEN, ROSS CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, Respondent.

CASE NO. 2:17-CV-325

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

January 8, 2018

JUDGE JAMES L. GRAHAM

Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura

ORDER and REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Petitioner, a state prisoner, has filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. This matter is before the Court on the Petition and amendment to the Petition, Respondent's Return of Writ, Petitioner's Reply, and the exhibits of the parties. For the reasons that follow, the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS that this action be DISMISSED.

Petitioner's motion to file a Reply to the Return of Writ (see ECF No. 12) is GRANTED, and Petitioner's request for a stay of proceedings (ECF No. 12) is DENIED.

I. Facts and Procedural History

Petitioner challenges his convictions after a trial in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on one count of aggravated burglary, three counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, and one count of having weapons while under disability. On January 21, 2014, the trial court imposed a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The state appellate court summarized the facts as follows:

On August 30, 2012, a Grand Jury indicted White and an alleged coconspirator. The Grand Jury charged White with one count of aggravated burglary, three counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, and one count of possessing a firearm while under disability. All counts (except the weapon under disability count) contained specifications for the use of a firearm.

The counts in the indictment arose from a single incident. On July 29, 2012, four men were shot in a house located at 1022 East 17th Avenue in Columbus, Ohio. Keith Paxton (aka "Gutter") and Albert Thompson (aka "T") were killed in the attack. Juanricus Kibby and Miquel Williams suffered bullet wounds but recovered.

The case went to trial on October 28, 2013. At the trial, both surviving victims identified White as one of the two shooters. In addition, another witness, Jeffrey Harris, testified that White had told him beforehand about White's plan to rob the house and then afterwards offered Harris a share of the money. Kibby and Williams both had known White for a long time; yet, neither identified him the first time they spoke with police following the shooting. Harris, who was initially suspected of having some involvement in the crime, went to the police to clear his name, but he did not tell the police the story he told at trial about White telling him of his plan to rob the house.

White's co-defendant presented an alibi witness, who claimed that the codefendant was not present during the shooting. White admitted that he was at the house and shot some of the people there. However, he claimed that he shot in self-defense because, when he arrived to buy drugs, the four individuals who were subsequently deemed to be the victims, made him get on his knees at gunpoint and were robbing him. Forensic evidence regarding the direction and angles from which some of the victims were shot tended to contradict White's version of the events, as did the fact that White and the other shooter each fired at least six times and the four victims did not return fire. Thompson was shot as if he were getting up from a seated position, and Paxton was shot in the back shoulder. Only two guns were used in the shooting and neither were any of the guns in the possession of the house occupants.

On November 5, 2013, the trial concluded, and the jury began its deliberations. Two days later, the jury announced its verdict. The jury found White guilty on all counts. The trial court also found White guilty of having a weapon while under disability. The trial court held a sentencing hearing on January 22, 2014 and sentenced White to life in prison without parole.

State v. White, No. 14AP-160, 2015 WL 9393518, at *1-2 (Ohio App. 10th Dist. Dec. 22, 2015). Represented by new counsel, Petitioner filed a timely appeal. He raised the following assignments of error:

[I.] THE DEFENDANT WAS DEPRIVED OF HIS RIGHT TO THE EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL IN VIOLATION OF THE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND SECTION 10 AND 16, ARTICLE I OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION BASED UPON THE ACTUAL AND POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS THE DEFENDANT'S TRIAL COUNSEL HAD IN THIS CASE.

[II.] THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT INSTRUCTED THE JURORS THAT IT HAD TO FIND THE DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY OF AGGRAVATED MURDER BEFORE IT COULD CONSIDER THE DEFENDANT'S GUILT OF THE LESSER-INCLUDED OFFENSE OF MURDER, THE SO-CALLED "ACQUITTAL FIRST" INSTRUCTION THAT WAS HELD TO BE IMPROPER IN STATE V. THOMAS, 40 Ohio St.3d 213, 533 N.E.2d 286 (1988), AND FURTHER ERRED WHEN IT INSTRUCTED ON THE AGGRAVATED MURDER CHARGES IN COUNTS SEVEN AND EIGHT WITHOUT ALSO INSTRUCTING ON THE LESSER OFFENSE OF MURDER AND DEFENSE COUNSEL WAS INEFFECTIVE BY FAILING TO OBJECT TO THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

[III.] WHEN THE STATE CLAIMED THAT THE DEFENDANT FLED THE SCENE DUE TO A CONSCIOUSNESS OF GUILT, WHILE THE DEFENDANT MAINTAINED THAT HE FLED THE SCENE OF THE SHOOTING OUT OF FEAR FOR HIS SAFETY, IT WAS PREJUDICIAL CONDUCT FOR THE JUDGE, OVER OBJECTION, TO PICK A SIDE AND INSTRUCT THE JURY ONLY WITH RESPECT TO THE STATE'S THEORY OF GUILT AND TO INSTRUCT ONLY ON THE INFERENCES REQUESTED BY THE STATE AND TO EMPHASIS [sic] AND GIVE UNDUE PROMINENCE ONLY TO THE FACTS THAT SUPPORTED THE STATE'S THEORY.

[IV.] THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT VIOLATED THE RULES AGAINST HAVING EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE STATE WHERE THE COURT WAS TOLD EXTREMELY PREJUDICIAL ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING THE DEFENDANTS WHICH SO FRIGHTENED THE COURT

THAT IT ORDERED, WITHOUT A PROPER HEARING, EXTRAORDINARY SECURITY MEASURES FOR THE COURTROOM AND THE TRIAL, AND THE ALLEGATIONS WERE SO PREJUDICIAL THAT THEY AFFICETED [sic] THE RIGHTS OF THE DEFENDANT TO A FAIR TRIAL FROM AN IMPARTIAL JUDGE.

Id. On December 22, 2015, the appellate court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. Id. On May 4, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court declined to accept jurisdiction of the appeal. State v. White, 145 Ohio St.3d 1460 (Ohio 2015).

On April 17, 2017, Petitioner filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. He asserts that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel (claim one); that he was denied a fair trial when the judge issued an improper jury instruction and denied the effective assistance of counsel based on his attorney's failure to object (claim two); that the trial court improperly instructed the jury on the State's theory of guilt and gave undue prominence to facts supporting the government's theory of guilt (claim three); and that the trial court improperly issued extraordinary security measures, violating Petitioner's right to a fair trial by an impartial trial judge (claim four). Petition (ECF No. 3.) Petitioner also asserts that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel based on his attorney's conflict of interest. Petitioner's Amendment to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (ECF No. 7.) It is the position of the Respondent that Petitioner's claims are procedurally defaulted or otherwise fail to present a basis for relief.

II. Motion for Stay

In claim five, Petitioner asserts that he was denied the effective assistance of trial counsel, because his attorney, Javier Armengau, faced pending felony charges during the time ofhis representation of the Petitioner in this case.¹ Although Respondent argues otherwise, see Return of Writ (ECF No. 11, PAGEID #67), Petitioner plainly raised this same issue in the Ohio Court of Appeals.

Petitioner argued that he was denied his right to the effective assistance of counsel based on the actual and potential conflicts of interests of his attorney, because his attorney had been indicted on charges of rape, kidnapping, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, and public indecency, and faced prosecution from the same entity. Brief of Defendant-Appellant (ECF No. 11-1, PAGEID ##143, 160.) Petitioner argued that the pending criminal charges created a potential conflict of interest, and that his attorney, the trial court, and the government had a duty to advise the Petitioner so that he could choose to proceed with different counsel or waive the potential conflict, unless an actual conflict existed. (PAGEID ##162-63.) Petitioner supported his claim by reference to State v. Gillard, 64 Ohio St.3d 304 (Ohio 1992), which in turn relies on federal law regarding the denial of the effective assistance of counsel based upon an alleged conflict of interest. See Wood v. Georgia, 450 U.S. 261 (1981); Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335 (1980): Holloway v. Arkansas, 435 U.S. 475 (1978). Petitioner also referred to other federal cases in support of his claim. (PAGEID ##164-171; 179-180.)²

The state appellate court rejected the claim as follows:

White asserts that, at the time of the trial, his trial attorney, Javier Armengau, was under indictment in Franklin County and facing very grave challenges to his own freedom, finances, and license to practice law. White argues that this situation created a conflict of interest.

That is, White suggests that Armengau would have been conflicted over whether to devote time to preparing his own defense or that of his client; Armengau might have chosen to take a greater percentage of White's financial resources in fees to help finance his own defense rather than hire an investigator in White's case; and Armengau would have been reluctant to vigorously represent White for fear of angering the same prosecutor's office that was prosecuting him, or even, conversely, might have failed to engage in any plea-bargaining efforts in White's case out of an indignant or vengeful desire

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