Wafford v. Evans, 10th Cir. (2006)

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES CO URT O F APPEALS
TENTH CIRCUIT
October 12, 2006

Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
M ICHA EL O . WA FFO RD ,
Petitioner-A ppellant,
No. 06-6082
v.
(W . D. Oklahoma)
EDW ARD EVANS, W arden,
(CIV-05-998-R)
Respondent-Appellee.
OR DER
Before H E N RY, BR ISC OE, and OBRIEN, Circuit Judges.
M ichael O. W afford, an O klahoma state prisoner proceeding pro se, seeks a

certificate of appealability (COA) to appeal the district courts order dismissing
his 28 U.S.C. 2254 petition for a w rit of habeas corpus. The magistrate judges
report and recommendation suggested dismissal of two of the ten claims because
they were procedurally defaulted. It recommended denial of habeas relief on the
remaining claims on grounds that the state courts decision was not contrary to or
an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. The federal
district court adopted the report and recommendation, denied the habeas petition,
and denied M r. W affords request to proceed in form a pauperis (IFP). Based
substantially upon the reasons set forth in the magistrate judges report and
recommendation, we deny M r. W affords request for a COA, deny his request to
proceed IFP, and dismiss this matter.

I. B ACKGROUND
In 2002, law enforcement officers in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
executed a search warrant at an apartment where an informant had previously
made a controlled purchase of cocaine from M r. W afford. Inside the apartment,
officers found M r. W afford, along with cocaine, marijuana, and a loaded revolver.
A state jury in Oklahoma County convicted M r. W afford of (1) trafficking
in illegal drugs (cocaine), in violation of Okla. Stat. tit. 63 2-415; (2)
possession of a firearm while committing a felony, in violation of Okla. Stat. tit.
21, 1287; (3) possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) w ith intent to
distribute, in violation of Okla. Stat. tit. 63, 2-401; and (4) concealing stolen
property, in violation of Okla. Stat. tit. 21, 1713. Previously, M r. W afford had
been convicted of a felony.
The state court sentenced him to consecutive terms of imprisonment of
thirty years, ten years, five years, and five years, respectively. The Oklahoma
Court of Criminal Appeals (OCCA) affirmed the first three convictions and
reversed the conviction for concealing stolen property. M r. W afford filed an
application for post-conviction relief in state district court; the district court
denied the application, and the OCCA affirmed.
M r. W afford subsequently raised ten claims in a federal 2254 habeas
petition: (1) he was denied effective assistance of trial counsel; (2) he was denied
2
effective assistance of appellate counsel based on appellate counsels failure to

raise a claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel; (3) he was denied due
process during sentencing because he did not knowingly stipulate to a prior
conviction used to enhance his sentence; (4) trial evidence was insufficient to
support the trafficking and possession convictions; (5) the state should not have
carve[d] two crimes from the presence of one gun, Rec. doc. 1, at 12; (6) an
evidentiary harpoon deprived him of a fair trial, id. at 13; (7) the trial court
admitted evidence that was more prejudicial than probative; (8) and (9) the trial
court erred by admitting evidence of other crimes; and (10) cumulative errors
denied him a fair trial.
II. D ISC USSIO N
[U]ntil a COA has been issued, federal courts of appeals lack jurisdiction
to rule on the merits of appeals for habeas petitioners. M iller-El v. Cockrell, 537
U.S. 322, 336 (2003). A COA may be granted only if the applicant has made a
substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. 28 U.S.C.
2253(c)(2). M r. W afford may satisfy this showing by demonstrating that
reasonable jurists would find the district courts assessment of the constitutional
claims debatable or wrong, or, if the ruling was procedural, that jurists of reason
would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid claim of the denial of a
constitutional right and that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the
district court was correct in its procedural ruling. M iller-El, 537 U.S. at 336.
3
The magistrate judge recommended that claims one (ineffective assistance

of trial counsel) and three (denial of due process during the sentencing hearing)
should be dismissed due to procedural default. The magistrate judge reasoned
that M r. W afford had not raised these claims in his direct appeal, and the OCCA
concluded in post-conviction review that he had procedurally defaulted on these
claims.
W e agree with the magistrate judge that the OCCAs procedural bar rule
provided an independent and adequate basis not to reach the merits of either
claim. As to these claims, M r. W affords allegations may be adjudicated on the
trial record, and M r. W afford had different counsel at trial and on direct appeal.
See English v. Cody, 146 F.3d 1257, 1263 (10th Cir. 1998) (concluding that
Oklahomas procedural bar rule can preclude federal habeas review of a claim of
ineffective assistance of trial counsel when (1) trial and appellate counsel differ,
and (2) the trial record alone resolves the claim).
On habeas review, we will not review claims defaulted in state court on an
independent and adequate state procedural ground absent a showing that: (1) a
cause outside the control of the petitioner caused the default, and the petitioner
has suffered prejudice, or (2) a fundamental miscarriage of justice would occur
absent review. Bousley v. United States, 523 U .S. 614, 622 (1998). W e also
agree with the magistrate judge that M r. W afford cannot establish cause for his
procedural default on claims one and three, and that his appellate counsel was not
4
ineffective for failing to raise claims one and three on direct appeal. M r. W afford
has not argued that fundamental miscarriage of justice would result. Therefore,
claims one and three are barred from federal habeas review.
W ith respect to claim two, the OCCA rejected M r. W affords ineffectiveassistance-of-appellate-counsel claim, and he has failed under this claim to make
a substantial showing of the denial of any constitutional right under Strickland v.
Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984).
The O CCA rejected on the merits claims four through ten in M r. W affords
habeas petition. W e therefore must determine whether the OCCAs adjudication
of these claims was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of,
clearly established federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the Untied
States or resulted in a decision that was based upon an unreasonable
determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court
proceeding. 28 U.S.C. 2254(d).
As to M r. W affords fourth claim, that evidence was insufficient to sustain
two convictions, we conclude that the OCCA reasonably held that there was
sufficient evidence in the record for a rational jury to find the essential elements
of the trafficking and weapons possession offenses beyond a reasonable doubt.
For the fifth claim, M r. W afford maintains that the State should not have
carve[d] two crimes from one presence of a gun. Rec. doc 1, at 12. M r.
W afford obtained relief on this claim in his direct appeal to the OCCA and
5
therefore cannot receive habeas relief now for the same claim.
As to the alleged evidentiary trial errors in claims six through nine, these
alleged errors were not so grossly prejudicial [that they] fatally infected the trial
and denied the fundamental fairness that is the essence of due process. Fox v.
Ward, 200 F.3d 1286, 1296 (10th Cir. 2000) (internal quotation marks omitted).
In light of the strong evidence support M r. W affords guilt, the OCCAs rejection
of these claims was reasonable. M oreover, M r. W afford has failed to make a
substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. W e similarly conclude
that M r. W affords tenth claimcumulative errordoes not satisfy the standard for
granting a C OA .
W e have reviewed M r. W affords request for a COA, the m agistrate judges
report and recommendation, the district courts orders, and the record on appeal.
For substantially the same reasons set forth by the magistrate judge, we conclude
that M r. W afford is not entitled to a COA. The magistrate judges report and
recommendation reflects a careful analysis of the record and is supported by
applicable law . Because jurists of reason would not find the district courts
conclusions debatable, we DEN Y M r. W affords request for a CO A and DISM ISS
this matter. W e also DENY his request to proceed IFP.
Entered for the Court,
Robert H. Henry
Circuit Judge

Wafford v. Evans, 10th Cir. (2006)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Wafford v. Evans, 10th Cir. (2006)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Wafford v. Evans, 10th Cir. (2006)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

F I L E D

United States Court of Appeals

October 12, 2006

EDW ARD EVANS, W arden,

Before H E N RY, BR ISC OE, and OBRIEN, Circuit Judges.

M ichael O. W afford, an O klahoma state prisoner proceeding pro se, seeks a

proceed IFP, and dismiss this matter.

effective assistance of appellate counsel based on appellate counsels failure to

The magistrate judge recommended that claims one (ineffective assistance

You might also like