Gingras v. Weber (CA8)

Gingras v. Weber, No. 07-3114 — The court affirmed the denial of a § 2254 petition challenging a conviction for selling marijuana.  The petitioner’s home was searched pursuant to a warrant, and the petitioner gave a statement to the police after being informed of his Miranda rights.  He filed a motion to suppress the statement before trial, which the trial court did not resolve before the petitioner pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement.  The petitioner had claimed — and the Eighth Circuit ultimately considered on appeal — that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to tell him that the motion to suppress the statement had not yet been ruled on at the time he pleaded guilty, and that but for that failure he would not have pleaded.

Despite the possibility that there existed an avenue under South Dakota law for the petitioner to resolve the claim in state court, the Eight Circuit addressed the merits.  Under the pre-AEDPA standard of review, the court concluded that there was “scant support in the record” for the idea that the petitioner’s statement to the police was not voluntarily made.  He was initially upset and crying when the police came to his house, but he had calmed down sufficiently to talk to the police in a calm and coherent manner.  There was no coersion on the police’s part.  These conclusions were reasonable, and did not suggest that the trial court would have granted the motion to suppress.  Consequently, there was no prejudice under Strickland and Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (1985).

The petitioner had sought an evidentiary hearing in federal court on this claim.  The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of the hearing, because the petitioner was not diligent in pursuing a hearing as to this claim.  The state habeas court did hold a hearing, but only on a different claim, and there was no indication that the petitioner had sought to bring this claim before the state courts on habeas review.  Consequently, he “failed to develop” the claim in state court, and was not entitled to a hearing under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2).