Casnave v. LaVigne , 169 F. App'x 435 ( 2006 )

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION
File Name: 06a0101n.06
Filed: February 9, 2006
No. 04-2052
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
RUSSELL CASNAVE,
Petitioner-Appellant,
v. ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
FABIAN LAVIGNE, WESTERN MICHIGAN
Respondent-Appellee.
/
BEFORE: SILER, CLAY AND ROGERS, Circuit Judges.
CLAY, Circuit Judge. Petitioner, Russell Casnave, appeals the district court’s denial of
his § 2254 habeas petition, following Petitioner’s conviction for second-degree murder and the
imposition upon him of a sentence of thirty to fifty years imprisonment. Petitioner seeks relief on
the grounds that the state trial court should have suppressed self-incriminating statements taken
without Miranda warning, and that the jury instructions should have instructed the jury to consider
the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter. For the reasons stated in this opinion, we
AFFIRM the district court’s denial of Petitioner’s habeas petition.
I.
No. 04-2052
The underlying facts of this case are largely undisputed. Kattura Ogburn Carter (“Carter”)
was married to Vincent Carter (“Vincent”) and the two resided in Chicago. Kattura Carter’s
daughter lived in Benton Harbor, Michigan with family. In December 1996, Carter traveled alone
to Benton Harbor to visit her family for Christmas. While in Benton Harbor, she stayed with her
sister Joni Rudley (“Rudley”). Carter was having an affair with Petitioner and also spent time at his
home while in Benton Harbor. Rudley was aware of Carter’s affair with Petitioner and often visited
Petitioner’s house with Carter to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. According to Rudley, there
was conflict between Carter and Petitioner about whether Carter would leave her husband.
Around New Year’s Eve, Vincent traveled to Benton Harbor, but he stayed with his
grandfather. On the morning of January 6, 1997, Vincent called Carter at Rudley’s house to make
arrangements to return to Chicago, but was informed that Carter was not there. Carter had borrowed
Rudley’s maroon Dodge Dynasty around 2:00 p.m. to go to Petitioner’s house to pick up her
belongings. After not hearing from Carter all day, Vincent went to Rudley’s house to see if
something was wrong. Rudley told Vincent that Carter had phoned earlier that afternoon to say that
she was on her way back, but never arrived. At Vincent’s urging, Rudley called Petitioner to ask
about Carter, and Petitioner told Rudley that Carter had left and was on her way to meet Vincent.
Vincent called the police and reported Carter missing, but the police could not respond until she had
been missing for twenty-four hours.
On January 9, 1997, the police found the Dodge Dynasty that Carter had been driving
abandoned in a driveway in Benton Harbor, with blood on the trunk. Rudley told the police that
Petitioner was the last person to see Carter alive. Benton Harbor Police Chief Street and two other
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No. 04-2052
officers located Petitioner at his grandmother’s house at approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 9,
1997. Petitioner opened the door and invited the officers inside the home. Once inside, the officers
told Petitioner that they wanted to ask him some questions about Kattura Carter, and asked him to
accompany them to Benton Harbor Police Department. Petitioner complied, and he was told by
Police Chief Street that he was not under arrest. Chief Street also informed Petitioner that he would
personally drive Petitioner back home after the interview. Petitioner was not handcuffed, and he was
told that he could leave anytime he wanted.
At the Benton Harbor Police Department, Chief Street and Detectives Robert O’Brien and
Tim O’Brien took Petitioner into an interview room. Detective Robert O’Brien advised Petitioner
again that he was not under arrest and that he was free to go at any time. Petitioner told the officers
that he had last seen Carter on Monday afternoon and that he loved her and would never harm her.
The detectives told Petitioner that they had found Carter’s car with what appeared to be blood on
the trunk. Detective Robert O’Brien then told Petitioner that he felt “there might be something more
that [Petitioner] could add to this that would be important.” (J.A. at 88.) At this point, Petitioner
asked if he could talk to Detective Robert O’Brien alone.
The other two officers left the room. Once alone, Petitioner told Detective Robert O’Brien
that he wanted to “tell him something very horrible.” Petitioner then went on to say that “he loved
[Kattura] very much and that what he was about to tell [Detective O’Brien] was very terrible and
it was an accident.” (J.A. at 144.) Petitioner then stated that Kattura Carter was no longer alive.
Petitioner claimed that there were parts that he could not remember, but he did remember where the
body was located and that he could take Detective Robert O’Brien to the body. When asked how
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Carter died, Petitioner said that he did not know but that he believed it was a hammer. Petitioner
said that he did not know how he came to be in possession of the hammer because he “blacked out.”
(J.A. at 145.) Detective Robert O’Brien stopped Petitioner from making any more statements at that
point but told Petitioner that he wanted to make sure that they “got Kattura to a proper place because
the weather was very bad outside.” (J.A. at 145.) Petitioner stated that it would be easier for him
to show Detective O’Brien where the body was than to tell him. Petitioner then asked for the other
two officers to come back into the room because he wanted to apologize to them for lying before.
The other officers returned and Petitioner apologized for not telling them the truth before about what
happened to Carter and stated that he wanted to take them to the body. (J.A. at 146.)
Petitioner rode with several police officers down to Farmer Street where Petitioner led the
officers to Carter’s body. Petitioner rode in the back of a police car and directed the officers where
to go. Once the body was recovered, Petitioner was taken back to the police station, given his
Miranda rights, and placed under arrest. At approximately 8:45 p.m., Petitioner waived his Miranda
rights and gave a full statement to the police without an attorney present.
After Petitioner was bound over for trial, his counsel moved to suppress his statement to the
police, asserting that Petitioner was in custody and should have been advised of his Miranda rights
earlier. The trial court denied the motion, finding that Petitioner was not in custody and was at all
times aware of his freedom of action. At the close of the people’s case, the trial court granted a
directed verdict on the charge of first degree murder, finding the evidence insufficient to establish
premeditation and deliberation beyond a reasonable doubt. At the close of proofs, the jury was
instructed on second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. The Berrien County jury
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No. 04-2052
convicted Petitioner of second-degree murder on October 15, 1997. Petitioner was sentenced on
December 1, 1997 to a thirty to fifty year term of imprisonment as a third habitual offender.
Petitioner appealed as of right to the Michigan Court of Appeals. The Michigan Court of
Appeals found that there was no Miranda violation, and also that since Petitioner failed to object
to the jury instruction at trial, appellate review was precluded absent manifest injustice, which they
did not find. Petitioner next filed an application for leave to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court,
raising the same Miranda and jury instructions claims. On December 12, 2000, the Michigan
Supreme Court issued an order denying Petitioner’s application for leave to appeal because it was
not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed.
On December 12, 2001, Petitioner then filed a pro se § 2254 habeas petition with the United
States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Petitioner sought relief on two grounds:
1) violation of his state and federal rights against self-incrimination; and 2) that the trial court
wrongfully instructed the jury to return a verdict on second degree murder. On March 17, 2004, the
magistrate judge recommended that the petition be denied. On August 11, 2004, the district court
approved and adopted the magistrate’s report and recommendation and denied Petitioner’s request
for habeas relief.
II.
In habeas appeals, we review the district court’s legal conclusions de novo and the factual
findings for clear error. Jordan v. Hurley, 397 F.3d 360, 362 (6th Cir. 2005). However, post-
AEDPA,
“[a]n 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
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No. 04-2052
claim that was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings unless the
adjudication of the claim resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved 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). The inquiry is “limited to an examination of the legal landscape as it
would have appeared to the Michigan state courts in light of Supreme Court precedent at the time
[the petitioner’s conviction] became final.” Onifer v. Tyszkiewicz, 255 F.3d 313, 318 (6th Cir.
2001). “For purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1), clearly established law . . . ‘refers to the holdings,
as opposed to the dicta, of [the Supreme Court’s] decisions as of the time of the relevant state-court
decision.’” Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 660-61 (2004) (quoting Williams v. Taylor, 529
U.S. 362, 412 (2000)).
The state court decision can be “contrary to” “clearly established federal law” if: it applies
a rule that contradicts the governing law set forth in Supreme Court cases; or the state court decision
confronts a set of facts that are materially indistinguishable from a decision of the Supreme Court
and nevertheless arrives at a result different from Supreme Court precedent. Williams v. Taylor, 529
U.S. at 407; Bailey v. Mitchell, 271 F.3d 652, 656 (6th Cir. 2001). The state court decision
constitutes an “unreasonable application” of “clearly established federal law” where the state court
identifies the correct governing legal rule from the Supreme Court’s cases but unreasonably applies
it to the facts of the particular state prisoner’s case; or the state court either unreasonably extends
a legal principle from a Supreme Court precedent to a new context where it should not apply or
unreasonably refuses to extend that principle to a new context where it should apply. Williams v.
Taylor, 529 U.S. at 406; Bailey, 271 F.3d at 655. A federal habeas court may not find a state
adjudication to be “unreasonable” “simply because that court concludes in its independent judgment
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No. 04-2052
that the relevant state-court decision applied clearly established federal law erroneously or
incorrectly.” Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. at 411. Rather, the issue is whether the state court’s
application of clearly established federal law is “objectively reasonable.” Id. at 410.
The AEDPA requires heightened respect for state court factual findings. Herbert v. Billy,
160 F.3d 1131, 1134 (6th Cir. 1998). A determination of a factual issue made by a state court is
presumed to be correct, and the petitioner has the burden of rebutting the presumption of correctness
by clear and convincing evidence. 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (e)(1).
III.
Whether a defendant is “in custody” is a mixed question of law and fact and therefore is
subject to de novo review. Biros v. Bagley, 422 F.3d 379, 389 (6th Cir. 2005) (citing United States
v. Salvo, 133 F.3d 943, 948 (6th Cir. 1998)).
In order to decide whether the state court violated clearly established federal law in deciding
that Petitioner was not in custody for Miranda purposes, it is important to consider the relevant
clearly established federal law. The Supreme Court stated in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444
(1966), that warnings are required when a defendant is the subject of custodial interrogation.
According to the Miranda Court, custodial interrogation is “questioning initiated by law
enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom
of action in any significant way.” Id.
The Court applied the Miranda custody test for the first time in Oregon v. Mathiason, 429
U.S. 492 (1977). Defendant Mathiason was a suspect in the theft from a residence near Pendleton,
Oregon. Police tried several times to contact Mathiason with no success, and after about 25 days,
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No. 04-2052
an officer left his card at Mathiason’s apartment along with a note asking Mathiason to call him.
Id. at 493. Mathiason telephoned the officer the next afternoon and the officer asked where it would
be convenient for them to meet. Id. Mathiason indicated no preference, so the officer asked
Mathiason to meet him at the station. Id. Mathiason complied and met the officer at the station,
where he was taken into a room and told that he was not under arrest. The officer then informed
Mathiason that he believed Mathiason was involved in the burglary and (falsely) stated that
Mathiason’s fingerprints were found at the scene. Id. After a few moments, Mathiason confessed
to having taken the property. Id. The officer then advised Mathiason of his Miranda rights and
allowed Mathiason to leave. Id. at 493-94. The Supreme Court held that “it is clear from these facts
that Mathiason was not in custody ‘or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant
way,’” at the time he confessed, and therefore Miranda warnings were not required. Id. at 495
(internal citation omitted). The Court further opined that “such a noncustodial situation is not
converted into one in which Miranda applies simply because a reviewing court concludes that, even
in the absence of any formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement, the questioning took place
in a coercive environment.” Id. “Any interview of one suspected of a crime by a police officer will
have coercive aspects to it . . . but police officers are not required to administer Miranda warnings
to everyone whom they question. Nor is the requirement of warnings to be imposed . . . because the
questioned person is one whom the police suspect.” Id.
In California v. Beheler, 463 U.S. 1121 (1983), the defendant Beheler and several of his
acquaintances attempted to steal hashish from Peggy Dean, a drug dealer who was selling the drug
in the parking lot of a liquor store. Id. at 1122. Beheler’s step-brother, Danny Wilbanks, killed
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No. 04-2052
Dean when she refused to relinquish the drug. Id. Beheler called the police, told them that
Wilbanks had killed Dean, and showed police where the gun was hidden in his [Beheler’s] backyard.
Id. Beheler voluntarily accompanied police to the station, where he was told that he was not under
arrest. Id. During a thirty-minute interview, during which time Beheler was not read his Miranda
rights, Beheler told police all the details of the murder. Id. Beheler was released, but was arrested
five days later in connection with Dean’s murder. Id. Beheler was read his Miranda rights at that
time, but he waived his rights and gave a second taped confession. Id. The Supreme Court, relying
upon its decision in Mathiason, held that it was “beyond doubt that Beheler was neither taken into
custody nor significantly deprived of his freedom of action.” Id. at 1123. (“Although the
circumstances of each case must certainly influence a determination of whether a suspect is ‘in
custody’ for purposes of receiving Miranda protection, the ultimate inquiry is simply whether there
is a ‘formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement’ of a degree associated with a formal
arrest.”).
In Stansbury v. California, 511 U.S. 318, 320 (1996), the Supreme Court clarified its view
that “the initial determination of custody depends on the objective circumstances of the
interrogation, not on the subjective views harbored by either the interrogating officers or the person
being questioned.” In Stansbury, ten-year-old Robyn Jackson disappeared from a playground in
Baldwin Park, California late one afternoon and her body was later found in a flood control channel
ten miles away in Pasadena. Id. at 319. Witness interviews revealed that Robyn had talked to two
ice cream truck drivers, including defendant Stansbury, in the hours before her disappearance. Id.
at 320. Several plainclothes officers went to Stansbury’s home at 11:00 in the evening. Id. The
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officers told Stansbury that they were investigating a homicide and asked if he would accompany
them to the station to answer some questions. Id. Stansbury agreed and rode to the station in the
front seat of the detective’s car. Id. At the station, a police lieutenant and another officer questioned
Stansbury about his whereabouts and activities on the day that Robyn disappeared, without giving
Stansbury Miranda warnings. Id. Stansbury admitted that he had spoken to the victim, but then
stated that he returned home to his trailer and left at about midnight in his housemate’s turquoise car.
Id. This detail aroused the suspicion of one of the officers because a witness had previously told
police that he saw a man driving a turquoise car throw something into the channel. Id. After
Stansbury admitted to prior convictions for rape, kidnaping, and child molestation, the officers
terminated the interview and Stansbury was advised of his rights and subsequently arrested. Id. In
ruling that Stansbury was not in custody for Miranda purposes, the Supreme Court held that
although “an officer’s knowledge or beliefs may bear upon the custody issue if they are conveyed
. . . to the individual being questioned . . . those beliefs are relevant only to the extent that they
would affect how a reasonable person in the position of the individual being questioned would gauge
the breadth of his or her freedom of action.” Id. at 320 (internal citations and quotations omitted).
See also Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 442 (1984); Thompson v. Keohane, 516 U.S. 99, 112
(1995) (stating that the custody determination hinges upon whether, “given those circumstances,
would a reasonable person have felt he or she was not at liberty to terminate the interrogation and
leave”);United States v. Crossley, 224 F.3d 847, 861(6th Cir. 2000) (internal citations and quotations
omitted) (“In evaluating whether a defendant was in custodial interrogation, we look to the totality
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No. 04-2052
of the circumstances to determine how a reasonable man in the suspect’s position would have
understood the situation.”); and United States v. Mahan, 190 F.3d 416, 421 (6th Cir. 1999).
Most recently, in Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 625 (2005), the Supreme Court has
specifically addressed the issue that is presently before this Court, namely, whether a state-court
adjudication of a Miranda claim involved an unreasonable application of clearly established law
when the state trial court concluded that the defendant Alvarado was not in custody. In Alvarado,
the then seventeen-year-old Michael Alvarado was part of an attempted carjacking that ended in the
murder of the driver of the truck. Id. at 656. Alvarado was not the trigger man, but was an
accomplice to the carjacking. About one month after the incident, a Los Angeles sheriff
investigating the murder called and left word at Alvarado’s house and with his mother that she
wished to speak to Alvarado. Alvarado’s parents accompanied him to the police station and were
told to wait in the lobby while the sheriff interviewed Alvardao for two hours. Id. During this
interview, Alvarado was not given Miranda warnings. Alvarado initially denied any knowledge or
involvement in the murder, even though the sheriff continually insisted that Alvarado was involved,
stating at various points that she knew that Alvarado was involved and that she had witnesses who
were saying that he was involved. Id. at 657. At this point, Alvarado slowly started to change his
story, admitting to being present during the carjacking, but disavowing knowledge of what had
actually happened or who had the gun. Id. The sheriff then changed tactics and started appealing
to Alvarado to help bring the killer to justice, stating, “I know it’s very difficult when it comes time
to ‘drop the dime’ on somebody . . . but if that had been your parent, your mother, or your brother,
or your sister, you would darn well want [the killer] to go to jail 'cause no one has the right to take
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No. 04-2052
someone’s life like that.’” Id. at 657-58. Alvarado finally admitted to taking part in helping to steal
the truck, and he also identified the gunman and told police that he had helped hide the gun after the
murder. Id. Alvarado was subsequently released to go home with his parents and was charged a few
months later, along with the gunman, with attempted robbery and murder.
At trial, Alvarado sought to suppress the statements from the interview, but the trial court
denied the motion on the ground that the interview was noncustodial. Id. at 658. On direct appeal
of his second degree murder conviction, the state appellate court also rejected Alvarado’s Miranda
claim and found that Alvarado was not in custody during the interview so no warnings were
required. Id. at 659. Alvarado then filed a § 2254 habeas petition in the U.S. District Court for the
Central District of California, which was denied on the ground that Alvarado was not in custody for
Miranda purposes during the interview. Id. The district court expressed reluctance to overturn the
state court’s decision under the highly deferential AEDPA standard.
The Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the state court had unreasonably
applied clearly established federal law in ruling that Alvarado was not in custody for Miranda
purposes. Id. In answering that question, the Court recognized that “the range of reasonable
judgment can depend in part on the nature of the relevant rule.” Id. at 664. The Court said that
some rules will be specific, thus the range may be narrow, and the application of the rule may be
plainly correct or incorrect. Id. Other rules may be more general, requiring a substantial element
of judgment, and “[t]he more general the rule, the more leeway courts have in reaching outcomes
in case by case determinations.” Id. On the basis of those principles, the Alvarado Court concluded
that the state court’s application of clearly established law was reasonable because “fair-minded
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jurists could disagree over whether Alvarado was in custody.” Id. The Supreme Court found that
the following facts weighed against a determination of custody: Alvarado was not transported to the
station by the police or required to appear at a certain time; he was not threatened with arrest; his
parents remained in the lobby during the interview, suggesting brevity; the sheriff focused on the
other suspect’s crimes, not Alvarado’s, during the interview; he was offered several times to take
a break; and the sheriff appealed to Alvarado’s interest in telling the truth rather than threatening
him with arrest. Id. According to the Court, “all of these objective facts are consistent with an
interrogation environment in which a reasonable person would have felt free to terminate the
interview and leave.” Id. at 654-65. On the other hand, the Court noted that several factors weighed
in favor of finding that Alvarado was in custody, including the following facts: the interview
occurred at the station; the interview lasted two hours; Alvarado was not told that he was free to
leave; Alvarado was transported to the station by his legal guardians, not on his own accord;
Alvarado’s parents apparently requested to be present during the interview but were rebuffed. Id.
at 665. The Court found that these facts “might reasonably have led someone in Alvarado’s position
to feel more restricted than otherwise” and “weigh in favor of the view that Alvarado was in
custody.” Id.
The Alvarado Court ultimately rejected the notion that the state court’s custody
determination was unreasonable, stating that:
[t]he custody test is general, and the state court’s application of our law fits within
the matrix of our prior decision. We cannot grant relief under AEDPA by
conducting our own independent inquiry into whether the state court was correct as
a de novo matter. A federal habeas court may not issue the writ simply because that
court concludes in its independent judgment that the state-court decision applied [the
law] incorrectly.
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Id. at 666.
Similarly, in the present case, we believe that reasonable jurists could disagree as to whether
Petitioner was in custody during his interrogation; therefore, we do not find that the state court
unreasonably applied clearly established federal law in determining that Petitioner was not in
custody. The objective facts and circumstances of the case do support the state court’s
determination of non-custody.
Three officers went to Petitioner’s residence at about 7:00 p.m. on the night in question, and
Petitioner, who was the last person to see the victim alive, voluntarily agreed to accompany the
officers to the police station to discuss Carter’s disappearance. The Police Chief specifically told
Petitioner that he was “not under arrest for anything,” and the officers assured Petitioner that he
would be driven home after the interview. At the police station, Petitioner was taken to an interview
room where two other officers were waiting to interview him. Petitioner was told at the outset that
he was free to go and that he could leave if he wanted. The officers proceeded to question Petitioner
about his relationship with Carter and Petitioner’s knowledge of her whereabouts. Petitioner was
never accused of anything, and Petitioner never asked to leave the interview room or to make a
telephone call. Notably, Petitioner was also seated near the door, a factor that the Sixth Circuit has
considered when making a determination of custody in a Miranda case. See Mahan, 190 F.3d at
421-22; Biros, 422 F.3d at 389.
After only a few minutes alone in the room with the three officers, Petitioner requested and
was granted permission to speak to Officer Detective O’Brien alone. Once the two were alone,
Petitioner, without any prompting, told the detective that he “wanted to tell him something very
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horrible that had happened.” (J.A. at 144.) Petitioner went on to state that it was an accident, that
Kattura was no longer alive, and that there was a struggle. Petitioner then volunteered to take police
to the Carter’s body. After apologizing to the other officers for not having told them the truth about
what had happened, Petitioner directed police to the location of Carter’s body. Thereafter, Petitioner
was immediately taken to the police station where he was given Miranda warnings and placed under
arrest. Petitioner then waived his rights and gave the police a full confession. The facts of this case
are similar enough to the factual situations of the Supreme Court cases cited above to make the state
court’s determination that Petitioner was not in custody reasonable. Therefore, we decline to
substitute our judgment for that of the state court.
IV.
Petitioner claims that the state trial court gave an improper jury instruction when it
instructed the jurors that they could stop deliberations once they agreed that the elements of second-
degree murder were met, without considering whether a verdict of voluntary manslaughter was
warranted. Petitioner failed to object to the jury instruction at trial; therefore Petitioner is
procedurally barred from habeas review unless he can show cause and prejudice. When a state-law
default prevents the state court from reaching the merits of a federal claim, that claim can ordinarily
not be reviewed in federal court. Ylst v. Nunnemaker, 501 U.S. 797, 801 (1991).
This Court has “previously explained that procedural default results where three elements
are satisfied: (1) the petitioner failed to comply with a state procedural rule that is applicable to the
petitioner’s claim; (2) the state courts actually enforced the procedural rule in the petitioner’s case;
and (3) the procedural forfeiture is an ‘adequate and independent’ state ground foreclosing review
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of a federal constitutional claim.” Willis v. Smith, 351 F.3d 741, 744 (6th Cir. 2003); Maupin v.
Smith, 785 F.2d 135, 138 (6th Cir. 1986). “A procedural default may be excused, however, if the
petitioner demonstrates that there was cause for the default and prejudice resulting from the default,
or that a miscarriage of justice will result from enforcing the procedural default in the petitioner’s
case.” Id; see also Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 749-50 (1991); and Seymour v. Walker,
224 F.3d 542, 550 (6th Cir. 2000). Even if Petitioner was not procedurally barred, he would still
have to establish that the jury instruction “so infected the entire trial that the resulting conviction
violates due process.” Henderson v. Kibbe, 431 U.S. 145, 154 (1977).
Under the Michigan contemporaneous objection rule, “instructional error should not be
considered on appeal unless the issue has been preserved by an objection to the instruction in the
trial court.” People v. Handley, 415 Mich. 356, 329 N.W.2d 710, 712 (Mich. 1982). Petitioner
failed to object to the instructions at trial, therefore the first prong of the Sixth Circuit procedural
default test is met. The second and third elements of this Court’s test are also met because the
evidence establishes that the Michigan Court of Appeals expressly relied on Michigan’s
contemporaneous objection rule in denying Petitioner’s claim. The Michigan Court of Appeals
noted Petitioner’s procedural default and applied a manifest injustice standard of review, stating:
“Because defendant failed to object to the jury instruction, appellate review is precluded absent
manifest injustice.” (J.A. at 61.) Furthermore, Michigan’s contemporaneous objection rule certainly
qualifies as an “independent and adequate” state ground, and is a rule designed to arm trial judges
with the information needed to rule reliably. See Lancaster v. Adams, 324 F.3d 423, 437 (6th Cir.
2003) . The rule also “constitutes an independent and adequate state ground on which to foreclose
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habeas review because the rule was ‘firmly established and regularly followed’ at the time it was
applied in [Petitioner’s] case.” Willis v. Smith, 351 F.3d at 745 (quoting Rogers v. Howes, 144 F.3d
990, 992 (6th Cir. 1998)). Petitioner’s failure to comply with the state’s independent and adequate
state procedural rule caused him to default his claim in state court, thereby barring his claim on
appeal to this Court.
The analysis must now turn to the question of whether Petitioner has demonstrated cause
and prejudice for failing to comply with the rule. When a petitioner has procedurally defaulted a
claim or issue in the state courts, the federal habeas court will entertain the defaulted issue only if
the petitioner can show “cause” for the procedural default and “actual prejudice” as a result of the
alleged federal violation. Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. at 750; Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478,
485 (1986); Lucas v. O’Dea, 179 F.3d 412, 418 (6th Cir. 1999); Rust v. Zent, 17 F.3d 155, 160-61
(6th Cir. 1994). Petitioner has not argued the issue of procedural default at all, therefore this Court
cannot find “cause” nor “actual prejudice” for the alleged violation.
This means that we now only have to consider whether a manifest injustice would result from
this Court enforcing the procedural default. “The burden of demonstrating that an erroneous
instruction was so prejudicial that it will support a collateral attack on the constitutional validity of
a state court’s judgment is even greater than the showing required to establish plain error on appeal.
The question in such a collateral proceeding is ‘whether the ailing instruction by itself so infected
the entire trial that the resulting conviction violates due process.’” Henderson v. Kibbe, 431 U.S.
at 154 (quoting Cupp v. Naughten, 414 U.S. 141, 147 (1973)).
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Petitioner does not meet this high burden because the judge properly instructed the jury on
the charges of second-degree murder and the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. Petitioner
argues that the jurors were precluded from considering the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter
because they were instructed that if they agreed that the elements of second-degree murder were met
they could stop their deliberations before considering the elements of voluntary manslaughter. This
argument is without merit. The state trial court instructed the jurors in a manner that is not only
constitutional but that fully complies with Michigan state law. Michigan law requires that in
murder prosecutions, the jury “must be told to consider the principal charge first.” Handley, 329
N.W.2d at 712. It should then be instructed that if it fails to convict or acquit or is unable to agree
on that offense, it may turn to the lesser offenses. Id.
In the present case, the jury was first instructed on the charge of second-degree murder and
told that the prosecutor must prove three elements beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury was told
that the prosecutor had to have prove: 1) that the defendant caused the death of Kattura Carter; 2)
that the defendant had the requisite state of mind; and 3) that the killing was not committed under
circumstances that reduce it to a lesser crime. (J.A. at 168.) The jury was then told that “the crime
of murder may be reduced to voluntary manslaughter if the defendant acted out of passion or anger
brought about by adequate cause and before the defendant had a reasonable time to calm down.”
(J.A. at 168.) The jury was further told the elements of voluntary manslaughter. (J.A. at 168-69.)
The judge then went on to state to the jury,
You must first consider the crime of second-degree murder. If you agree that the
defendant is guilty of that crime, you may stop your discussions and return your
verdict. If you believe that the defendant is not guilty of second-degree murder, or
if you cannot agree about that crime, you should consider the less serious crime of
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No. 04-2052
voluntary manslaughter. You decide how long to spend on the crime of second-
degree murder before discussing the crime of voluntary manslaughter. You can go
back to the crime of second-degree murder after discussing the less serious charges
if you want to do so.
(J.A. at 169-70.)
Petitioner was not prejudiced here because the trial court properly instructed the jury, as part
of its murder deliberations, to consider whether circumstances would justify reduction to a less
serious crime. The fact that the judge required the jury to consider second-degree murder before the
lesser included offense, does not present a manifest injustice. Michigan law specifically requires
that the jury be instructed this way. The trial court followed state law, properly instructed the jury,
and we do not believe that there was a manifest injustice.
III.
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the district court’s denial of Petitioner’s § 2254
habeas petition.
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