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    Brown v. McKune, 10th Cir. (2007)

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    Charles Brown was convicted of first degree murder in Kansas state court in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison. He has since filed numerous appeals and habeas petitions claiming various constitutional violations in his trial and post-conviction proceedings. The U.S. District Court denied his most recent habeas petition, and Brown applied for a Certificate of Appealability. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied the COA, agreeing with the District Court that Brown failed to make a substantial showing that his constitutional rights were denied. The Appeals Court also denied Brown's request for an evidentiary hearing, finding that his allegations did not entitle him to habeas relief even if taken as true.

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    Brown v. McKune, 10th Cir. (2007)

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    Charles Brown was convicted of first degree murder in Kansas state court in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison. He has since filed numerous appeals and habeas petitions claiming various constitutional violations in his trial and post-conviction proceedings. The U.S. District Court denied his most recent habeas petition, and Brown applied for a Certificate of Appealability. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied the COA, agreeing with the District Court that Brown failed to make a substantial showing that his constitutional rights were denied. The Appeals Court also denied Brown's request for an evidentiary hearing, finding that his allegations did not entitle him to habeas relief even if taken as true.

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    Filed: 2007-04-11 Precedential Status: Precedential Docket: 07-3001

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    Charles Brown was convicted of first degree murder in Kansas state court in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison. He has since filed numerous appeals and habeas petitions claiming various constitutional violations in his trial and post-conviction proceedings. The U.S. District Court denied his most recent habeas petition, and Brown applied for a Certificate of Appealability. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied the COA, agreeing with the District Court that Brown failed to make a substantial showing that his constitutional rights were denied. The Appeals Court also denied Brown's request for an evidentiary hearing, finding that his allegations did not entitle him to habeas relief even if taken as true.

    Copyright:

    Public Domain
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf
    18 views5 pages

    Brown v. McKune, 10th Cir. (2007)

    Uploaded by

    Scribd Government Docs
    Charles Brown was convicted of first degree murder in Kansas state court in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison. He has since filed numerous appeals and habeas petitions claiming various constitutional violations in his trial and post-conviction proceedings. The U.S. District Court denied his most recent habeas petition, and Brown applied for a Certificate of Appealability. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied the COA, agreeing with the District Court that Brown failed to make a substantial showing that his constitutional rights were denied. The Appeals Court also denied Brown's request for an evidentiary hearing, finding that his allegations did not entitle him to habeas relief even if taken as true.

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    of 5

    F I L E D

    United States Court of Appeals


    Tenth Circuit
    UNITED STATES CO URT O F APPEALS
    TENTH CIRCUIT

    April 11, 2007


    Elisabeth A. Shumaker
    Clerk of Court

    C HA RLES E. B RO WN ,
    Petitioner-A ppellant,
    v.
    DAVID R. M cKUNE, W arden,
    Lansing Correctional Facility; and
    PH IL KLINE, Kansas Attorney
    General,

    No. 07-3001
    (D.C. No. 06-CV-3046-M LB)
    (D. Kansas)

    Respondents-Appellees.

    OR DER DENYING CERTIFICATE O F APPEALABILITY

    Before L UC ER O, HA RTZ, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.

    On September 6, 1996, Petitioner Charles E. Brown w as convicted of first


    degree murder by a Kansas state trial court and was sentenced to life in prison.
    At trial, the State produced evidence that M r. Brown killed his victim, M ichael
    Gerhard, and that, with the assistance of an employee, Shaw n Cordray, M r.
    Brow n burned M r. Gerhards body at a salvage yard owned by M r. Brow n. M r.
    Gerhards body was never found, but substantial circumstantial evidence tied M r.
    Brow n to the murder, including testimony by more than one w itness that M r.
    Brown admitted to killing M r. Gerhard. M r. Browns defense at trial sought
    (unsuccessfully) to suggest that Shawn Cordray killed M r. Gerhard. After trial,

    M r. Brown appealed his conviction and sentence, and he completed a full round
    of collateral review in the state courts.
    M ore recently, M r. Brown filed a petition for habeas corpus in the district
    court under 28 U.S.C. 2254, raising a raft of claims: (1) bias by the trial judge;
    (2) violation of his right to a speedy trial; (3) refusal of the trial court to give M r.
    Brown a transcript of his preliminary hearing instead of a tape; (4) admission of
    bone and teeth fragments w ithout foundation; (5) ineffective assistance by his
    post-trial counsel; (6) ineffective assistance by his trial counsel; (7) violation of
    his rights under the Sixth Amendment by failing to give him a full and fair
    hearing on state collateral review; (8) insufficiency of evidence; and (9)
    unconstitutionality of the state first-degree murder statute.
    Applying the deferential standards set out in the Antiterrorism and
    Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), which allows a federal court to
    grant habeas relief only if the state court decision 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 district
    court, in a detailed 47-page opinion, addressed each claim and either denied the
    claim on its merits or found it to be procedurally defaulted. M r. Brown filed a
    motion to alter or amend judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e),
    which was denied by the district court. M r. Brown then applied for a certificate
    of appealability (COA) in the district court, which did not act on the application
    -2-

    w ithin 30 days of M r. B row n filing a notice of appeal. Under our rules, we


    therefore deem that application denied. 10th Cir. R. 22.1(C).
    In his application for a COA in this Court, M r. Brown essentially reiterates
    the arguments he made to the district court, rarely addressing, let alone seeking to
    respond to, the district courts disposition of his claims. M r. Brown also
    complains of the district courts failure to hold an evidentiary hearing on his
    petition. See Notice of A ppeal 5, 6, 8. Having reviewed each of M r. Brow ns
    claims w ith care, we deny M r. Browns application for a COA for substantially
    the same reasons stated by the district court in its thorough M emorandum and
    Order denying habeas relief. W e find that M r. Brown has failed to make a
    substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right because the district
    courts order of dismissal is not reasonably debatable. 28 U.S.C. 2253(c);
    United States v. Taylor, 454 F.3d 1075, 1078 (10th Cir. 2006).
    Additionally, we deny M r. Browns request that his case be remanded to
    the district court for an evidentiary hearing. 1 In his application for a COA to this
    1

    Though we consider his request on its merits, we note that it is not clear
    that M r. Brow n properly preserved this argument by making a request for a
    hearing before the district court in the first instance. In M r. Browns reply to the
    States response to his petition (which M r. Brown styled a Travers), he stated
    that his ineffective assistance of counsel [i]ssues are such that they require no
    hearing. D.Ct. Docket No. 19 at 9. In response to the States argument that no
    evidentiary hearing was necessary, M r. Brown responded only that Petitioner
    states [here] that if the Court does not hold an evidentiary hearing, then if it reads
    the EX HIBIT and M EM ORANDUM [OF] LAW and other filings submitted by
    petitioner it should be [able] to rule on most of the issues raised by him.
    (continued...)
    -3-

    Court, M r. Brown argues that the district court erred in declining to grant him an
    evidentiary hearing because the [appellant] has consistently asserted that he was
    unable to prese[n]t [] evidence of trial counsels inadequate investigation at the
    state evidentiary hearing. Appellant/Petitioners Opening Br. at 25. He further
    argues that the State expressly never considered the merits of [his] claims, and
    that [u]nder these circumstances [the] appellant cannot be faulted for [f]ailing to
    develop his evidence in state post conviction proceedings. Id.
    By statute, if a petitioner has failed to develop the factual basis of a claim
    in State court proceedings, the district court shall not hold an evidentiary hearing
    unless the petitioner meets two requirements: (i) the claim is based on either a
    new rule of constitutional law, made retroactive to habeas cases, or on a factual
    predicate that could not previously have been discovered with due diligence, and
    (ii) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient to establish by clear and
    convincing evidence that but for constitutional error, no reasonable factfinder
    would have found the applicant guilty of the underlying offense. 28 U.S.C.
    2254(e)(2). If a prisoner has not failed to develop the facts of his claim because
    of lack of diligence, however, the strictures of 2254(e)(2) are inapplicable,
    Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 420, 430, 432 (2000), and a petitioner is entitled to
    1

    (...continued)
    However, some would not be fully considered. Id. at 12. M r. Brown never
    apprised the district court which claims he believed would not be fully
    considered without a hearing, nor did he offer any reasons to support his
    assertion on this score.
    -4-

    an evidentiary hearing so long as his allegations, if true and if not contravened by


    the existing factual record, would entitle him to habeas relief. Anderson v. Atty
    Gen. of Kan., 425 F.3d 853, 858-59 (10th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation omitted).
    Reading his brief liberally, M r. Brown appears to be arguing that the requirements
    of 2254(e)(2) do not apply to him viz., that he cannot be faulted for failing to
    develop his claims at the state level. W e need not decide that question, however;
    for the reasons fully explained in the district courts analysis, we are unpersuaded
    that M r. Browns allegations, even if taken as true, entitle him to habeas relief.
    See Snow v. Sirmons, 474 F.3d 693, 719 n.29 (10th Cir. 2007).
    *

    W e deny M r. Browns application for a COA and dismiss the appeal.


    ENTERED FOR THE COURT

    Neil M . Gorsuch
    Circuit Judge

    -5-

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