Bowles v. State of Kansas ( 2016 )

FILED
United States Court of Appeals
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit
TENTH CIRCUIT September 14, 2016
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
ARTHUR BOWLES,
Petitioner - Appellant, No. 16-3237
v. (D.C. No. 5:15-CV-03049-JTM)
STATE OF KANSAS; ATTORNEY (D. Kan.)
GENERAL OF KANSAS,
Respondents - Appellees.
ORDER DENYING A CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY
AND DISMISSING THE APPEAL
Before LUCERO, MATHESON, and BACHARACH, Circuit Judges.
Mr. Arthur Bowles was convicted in state court on charges of
attempted aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated indecent solicitation,
and lewd and lascivious behavior. He unsuccessfully sought a writ of
habeas corpus in federal district court. To appeal, Mr. Bowles requests a
certificate of appealability. We deny this request and dismiss the appeal.
I. Standard for a Certificate of Appealability
To obtain a certificate of appealability, Mr. Bowles must make “a
substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C.
§ 2253(c)(2) (2012). Mr. Bowles meets this standard only if “jurists of
reason could disagree with the district court’s resolution of his
constitutional claims or . . . jurists could conclude the issues presented are
adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.” Miller-El v.
Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 327 (2003).
The Court applies this standard in light of Mr. Bowles’s burden to
justify habeas relief. This burden is steep when the state appeals court has
rejected his claims on the merits. A federal district court can grant habeas
relief in these circumstances only if the petitioner establishes that 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” or
 “was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in
light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.”
28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)-(2) (2012).
II. Mr. Bowles’s Arguments for a Certificate of Appealability
Because Mr. Bowles is pro se, we liberally construe his application
for a certification of appealability. See Hall v. Scott, 292 F.3d 1264, 1266
(10th Cir. 2002) (“Because Hall has filed his application for a COA pro se,
we construe his petition liberally.”). Mr. Bowles seeks a certificate of
appealability on his claims of (1) deprivation of due process based on a
suggestive photo line-up, (2) deprivation of due process based on denial of
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expert assistance at trial, (3) ineffective assistance of counsel, and (4)
errors in sentencing. Mr. Bowles also asserts actual innocence and
insufficiency of evidence of guilt. Because reasonable jurists could not
debate the district court’s denial of habeas relief, the Court declines to
issue a certificate of appealability.
A. Suggestive Photo Lineup
Mr. Bowles alleges denial of due process from the use of an unduly
suggestive photo line-up. The Kansas Court of Appeals declined to address
the issue, holding that Bowles had failed to preserve the issue. State v.
Bowles, No. 96,107, 2007 WL 2239255, at *2 (Kan. Ct. App. Aug. 3,
2007). The district court properly treated this holding as an independent
and adequate state procedural ground. Thus, the district court could not
grant habeas relief unless Mr. Bowles demonstrated (1) cause for the
default and prejudice or (2) a fundamental miscarriage of justice from
failure to consider the claim. Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 750
(1991).
Mr. Bowles alleges cause based on ineffective assistance of counsel.
For this allegation, Mr. Bowles must show both that his attorney’s
performance was deficient and prejudicial. Strickland v. Washington, 466
U.S. 668, 687-88 (1984). The state appeals court held that Mr. Bowles had
failed to demonstrate ineffectiveness of counsel.
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The federal district court agreed and concluded that Mr. Bowles had
not shown cause for the procedural default. This conclusion was not
reasonably debatable. As a result, we decline to issue a certificate of
appealability on the issue involving use of an unduly suggestive lineup.
B. Expert Assistance
Mr. Bowles alleges a deprivation of due process from the denial of
expert assistance at trial. The state appeals court concluded that Mr.
Bowles had procedurally defaulted on this claim.
Again, Mr. Bowles alleges ineffective assistance of counsel as cause
for the default. The state appeals court rejected this argument, and the
federal district court upheld this analysis as a reasonable application of
clearly established federal law. This analysis is not reasonably debatable.
Thus, we decline to issue a certificate of appealability on this issue.
C. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Mr. Bowles also alleges ineffective assistance of counsel. The
federal district court rejected the allegation, holding that the state appeals
court reasonably applied Supreme Court precedent. This holding is not
reasonably debatable. Thus, we decline to issue a certificate of
appealability on this issue.
D. Sentencing Errors
Mr. Bowles challenges the sentence, claiming that the state court
failed to obtain required jury findings and imposed excessive punishments
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for multiple offenses involving the same conduct. The federal district court
held that these claims are procedurally barred. In our view, this holding is
not reasonably debatable. As a result, we decline to issue a certificate of
appealability on this issue.
E. Sufficiency of Evidence and Actual Innocence
Mr. Bowles alleges (1) insufficiency of the evidence on guilt and (2)
actual innocence. The district court concluded that Mr. Bowles had failed
to satisfy his burden under Supreme Court precedent. This conclusion was
not reasonably debatable. As a result, we decline Mr. Bowles’s request for
a certificate of appealability on the claims of insufficient evidence and
actual innocence.
III. Disposition
We deny Mr. Bowles’s request for a certificate of appealability and
dismiss the appeal.
Entered for the Court
Robert E. Bacharach
Circuit Judge
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