Daliyl Muhammad v. Superintendent Fayette SCI ( 2021 )


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  •                                                                NOT PRECEDENTIAL
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
    _____________
    No. 19-1905
    _____________
    DALIYL RAAID MUHAMMAD,
    Appellant
    v.
    SUPERINTENDENT FAYETTE SCI;
    ATTORNEY GENERAL PENNSYLVANIA
    ______________
    On Appeal from the United States
    District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
    (D.C. Civil No. 1-08-cv-01287)
    District Judge: Honorable Christopher C. Conner
    _____________
    Argued May 25, 2021
    ______________
    Before: GREENAWAY, JR., SHWARTZ, Circuit Judges, and KANE, District Judge.*
    (Opinion Filed: August 18, 2021)
    Eugene Dionne [ARGUED]
    Erin Sullivan [ARGUED]
    James S. Ballenger
    University of Virginia Law School
    580 Massie Road
    Charlottesville, VA 22903
    *
    The Honorable Yvette Kane, United States District Judge for the Middle District
    of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation.
    Counsel for Appellant
    Ryan H. Lysaght [ARGUED]
    Dauphin County Office of District Attorney
    101 Market Street
    Harrisburg, PA 17101
    Counsel for Appellee
    ______________
    OPINION
    ______________
    GREENAWAY, JR., Circuit Judge.
    When examining claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, we look principally at
    two issues – whether there was deficient performance of counsel and if so, whether there
    was prejudice. Here, our focus revolves around whether counsel provided effective
    assistance concerning the trial court’s jury instructions. Appellant Daliyl Raaid
    Muhammad argues that prejudice abounds and because of the trial court’s error in its
    instructions to the jury there is a reasonable probability of a different result. We disagree.
    For the reasons below, we will affirm.
    I.     BACKGROUND
    **
    This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and, pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7,
    does not constitute binding precedent.
    2
    In January 2002, James Nickol called Muhammad to purchase marijuana from
    him. Muhammad agreed to meet Nickol later that evening in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
    for a drug exchange. Nickol and a companion, Derrick Kleugel, then drove to
    Harrisburg. Upon their arrival, Muhammad informed Nickol and Kleugel that they
    would have to walk a few blocks to get the marijuana. Muhammad was accompanied by
    another man, later identified as co-defendant Michael Cameron.
    “At some point while the four men were walking down South 15th Street,
    [Muhammad] and Cameron slowly began to lag behind the victims.” App. at 193.
    “Gunfire then rang out.” Id. “Nickol was shot three times in the back, three times in the
    stomach, and once in the hip. Kleugel was shot twice in the back and once in the hip.”
    Id. Nickol testified that Muhammad climbed on top of him while holding something
    shiny in his hand and demanded money. Nickol handed Muhammad $500 of the $2,400
    he had in his pocket and told Muhammad that the rest of the money was in Kleugel’s car.
    “Kleugel also testified that after he fell, someone searched him and demanded money.”
    App. at 193.
    The lack of casings found at the scene suggested that the shots came from
    revolvers and not automatic weapons. The number of gunshot wounds suggested that
    more than one gun was used. Muhammad was ultimately apprehended six months later
    “following considerable resistance.” App. at 194.
    3
    At trial, after closing arguments, the trial court instructed the jury that Muhammad
    needed to have a specific intent to kill to be found guilty of attempted homicide under
    state law. But the trial court also told the jury that it could convict Muhammad of
    attempted homicide if “the Defendant or an accomplice or a co-conspirator did the act or
    acts with a specific intent to kill James Nickol.” App. 157.
    During their deliberations, the jury asked the trial court for clarification on the
    elements of attempted homicide. The trial court again equivocated on the standard:
    Two things have to come together in time. Some act which you the jury find
    to be a substantial step toward attempting to kill someone, in this case, Mr.
    Nickol, and that at the same time, whoever the person is that’s doing that act
    is either the Defendant, an accomplice or a co-conspirator, and that person
    has in their mind the intention to kill Mr. Nickol.
    App. at 178. Trial counsel did not object to these instructions.
    The jury ultimately found Muhammad guilty of attempted homicide, robbery,
    criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, flight to avoid
    apprehension, escape, resisting arrest, and false identification to law enforcement
    authorities. Based on the jury’s verdict, the trial court sentenced Muhammad to an
    aggregate term of thirty-seven to ninety years in prison.
    Muhammad pursued claims on appeal and post-conviction applications in the
    Pennsylvania state courts. He argued that the trial court erred in its jury instructions and
    that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object. The state courts held that the trial
    court’s instructions were not erroneous, as they included a proper instruction that a
    4
    conviction for attempted homicide requires intent to commit the crime. The District
    Court reviewed Muhammad’s federal habeas petition and similarly found that the trial
    judge had accurately stated the law and that counsel was not ineffective. This appeal
    followed.
    II.    JURISDICTION AND STANDARD OF REVIEW
    The District Court had jurisdiction under 
    28 U.S.C. §§ 2241
     and 2254. We have
    jurisdiction under 
    28 U.S.C. §§ 1291
     and 2253. “In a federal habeas corpus proceeding,
    we exercise plenary review of the district court’s legal conclusions and apply a clearly
    erroneous standard to the court’s factual findings.” Lambert v. Blackwell, 
    134 F.3d 506
    ,
    512 (3d Cir. 1997).
    III.   DISCUSSION
    Muhammad argues that the trial court’s jury instructions inaccurately stated the
    law on attempted homicide thereby violating his federal due process rights. He also
    maintains that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the jury instructions
    and as a result, he is entitled to a new trial.1
    1
    Under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”), a prisoner in
    state custody can only seek habeas relief once he has exhausted all remedies in the state
    courts. 
    28 U.S.C. § 2254
    (b)(1)(A). To satisfy that exhaustion requirement, the
    defendant’s constitutional claims, or their “substantial equivalent,” must be “‘fairly
    presented’ to the state courts.” Lambert, 134 F.3d at 513 (quoting Evans v. Court of
    Common Pleas, Delaware Cnty., Pa., 
    959 F.2d 1227
    , 1231 (3d Cir. 1992)). This is not a
    high burden. See McCandless v. Vaughn, 
    172 F.3d 255
    , 261 (3d Cir. 1999). At oral
    5
    We agree with Muhammad that the jury instructions were erroneous, and that trial
    counsel’s failure to object to the instructions fell below the standard for competent
    representation. But the erroneous jury instruction was harmless, and counsel’s failure to
    object did not prejudice Muhammad.
    A.     Jury Instructions and Counsel’s Ineffective Assistance
    Pennsylvania law requires proof of specific intent to kill for each individual
    charged with attempted criminal homicide, even where the parties are accomplices or
    coconspirators. See 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann § 901(a); id. § 2501(a). “A person commits
    attempt when, with intent to commit a specific crime, he does any act which constitutes a
    substantial step toward the commission of that crime.” Id. § 901(a).
    Under Strickland v. Washington, a petitioner shows ineffective assistance of
    counsel based on the following: “First, the defendant must show that counsel’s
    performance was deficient. . . . Second, the defendant must show that the deficient
    performance prejudiced the defense.” 
    466 U.S. 668
    , 687 (1984). To establish deficiency
    of performance under the Strickland standard, the petitioner must show that counsel’s
    argument, the Commonwealth conceded that Muhammad presented both an ineffective
    assistance of counsel claim and a due process claim to the PCRA courts. We agree that
    the District Court correctly found that Muhammad satisfied his requirement to exhaust.
    We therefore reach the merits of his claims.
    6
    representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing
    professional norms considering all the circumstances. 
    Id. at 688
    .
    Here, the trial court correctly told the jury that a defendant needed to have a
    specific intent to kill to be found guilty of attempted homicide under state law, and that
    “[a] person cannot be guilty of an attempt to commit a crime unless he has . . . a firm
    intent to commit that crime.” App. at 158. But the court also told the jury that it should
    convict for attempted homicide if “the Defendant or an accomplice or a co-conspirator
    did the act or acts with specific intent to kill James Nickol.” App. at 157. That
    instruction could have been interpreted to mean that only one accomplice or conspirator
    needed to have such an intent. This Court has consistently held that such an instruction
    does not comply with federal due process requirements. See, e.g., Tyson v.
    Superintendent Houtzdale SCI, 
    976 F.3d 382
    , 395 (3d Cir. 2020); Bennett v.
    Superintendent Graterford SCI, 
    886 F.3d 268
    , 288 (3d Cir. 2018); Laird v. Horn, 
    414 F.3d 419
    , 425 (3d Cir. 2005); Smith v. Horn, 
    120 F.3d 400
    , 416 (3d Cir. 1997).
    Because the trial court stated the erroneous instructions twice—once during its
    primary instruction and again in response to a question from the jury during
    deliberations—we conclude that counsel’s failure to object fell below the standard of
    competent representation.
    B.     Prejudice
    7
    Nevertheless, the erroneous jury instructions and defense counsel’s failure to
    object to them did not prejudice Muhammad.
    To show prejudice, a defendant must show that counsel’s act or omission “actually
    had an adverse effect on the defense.” Strickland, 
    466 U.S. at 693
    . According to
    Strickland,
    The defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for
    counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been
    different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine
    confidence in the outcome.
    
    Id. at 694
    . We must consider the totality of the evidence because “a verdict or conclusion
    only weakly supported by the record is more likely to have been affected by errors than
    one with overwhelming record support.” 
    Id. at 696
    .
    When a claim was not procedurally defaulted and was adjudicated on the merits
    by the state court, we afford the state court’s determinations deference under AEDPA.
    Hardy v. Cross, 
    565 U.S. 65
    , 66 (2011). In doing so, we determine whether the state
    court’s determinations:
    (1) 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; or (2) resulted in a decision that 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). In this instance, because the PCRA Court adjudicated
    Muhammad’s ineffective assistance claim on the merits, we owe AEDPA deference to its
    8
    finding that the jury instruction did not prejudice Muhammad. See App. at 280 (“[E]ven
    if [the trial court] gave an ambiguous instruction, the Defendant would still not have been
    prejudiced.”).
    Here, we cannot conclude that the PCRA court’s prejudice finding was
    constitutionally unreasonable or based on an unreasonable determination of the facts.
    There was a quantum of strong evidence presented at trial from which a jury could
    conclude that Muhammad possessed an intent to kill, and from which a court could
    reasonably find that no different result would have occurred. Muhammad conceded there
    was sufficient evidence in the record placing him at the scene, and Nickol testified that
    Muhammad was one of the two individuals walking directly behind the victims when the
    shots were fired. Both victims were shot in vital areas: Nickol was shot three times in
    the back, three times in the stomach, and once in the hip, and Kleugel was shot twice in
    the back and once in the hip.
    Moreover, expert testimony suggested that more than one gun was fired because
    of the nature of the casings and the number of shots fired.2 “Nickol specifically identified
    2
    Muhammad argues that the fact that he was acquitted of possession of a firearm means
    the jury did not think possession had been proved. To the extent that Muhammad wants
    the Court to infer that this acquittal undermines the intent to kill, we are unconvinced.
    There is no basis in case law suggesting that we should conclude that Muhammad’s
    acquittal on the gun possession charge would necessarily raise an inference that he is not
    guilty on the separate charge of attempted murder. See United States v. Powell, 
    469 U.S. 9
    [Muhammad] kneeling over him, demanding money, and holding what was likely a shiny
    firearm.” App. at 195-96. These facts, together with the cajoling of both individuals to
    go to an isolated area upon their arrival to Harrisburg, are the type of evidence from
    which a jury could conclude that there was intent to kill. And Pennsylvania courts have
    held that repeated use of a deadly weapon on a vital part of a victim’s body is enough to
    infer intent to kill. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Randolph, 
    873 A.2d 1277
    , 1281 (Pa.
    2005) (“Appellant’s use of a deadly weapon on a vital part of each victim’s body is
    sufficient to establish specific intent to kill.”); Commonwealth v. Sepulveda, 
    855 A.2d 783
    , 789 (Pa. 2004) (stating that when the defendant was shot in the abdomen, he was
    shot in a vital part of his body); Commonwealth v. Drumheller, 
    808 A.2d 893
    , 908 (Pa.
    2002) (explaining that the defendant’s targeting of the victim’s chest, abdomen, and side
    were sufficient to convict the defendant of first-degree murder); Commonwealth v.
    Hilliard, 
    172 A.3d 5
    , 12 (Pa. Super. 2017) (“It is reasonable to infer the shooter’s intent
    from both the number of gunshot wounds he inflicted and the use of a deadly weapon
    upon a vital part of the victim’s body.”). In all, counsel’s error did not prejudice
    Muhammad.3
    57, 67-68 (1984) (explaining that a defendant is not entitled to have a conviction on one
    count set aside because it is inconsistent with an acquittal on another count).
    3
    We have concluded as part of our analysis of Muhammad’s ineffective assistance of
    counsel claim that the instruction enabled the jury to find him guilty without having to
    10
    IV.    CONCLUSION
    For these reasons, we will affirm the order of the District Court.
    find proof that he had specific intent to kill. But we have also concluded that this error
    did not prejudice Muhammad. Such a conclusion also means that the error was harmless
    under Brecht v. Abrahamson, 
    507 U.S. 619
     (1993) for the purposes of Muhammad’s due
    process claim. Breakiron v. Horn, 
    642 F.3d 126
    , 147 n.18 (3d Cir. 2011) (“Strickland
    prejudice and Brecht harmless error are essentially the same standard.” (citation
    omitted)); Whitney v. Horn, 
    280 F.3d 240
    , 258 n.18 (3d Cir. 2002) (suggesting that “if a
    habeas petitioner meets the Strickland test, then he/she need not also demonstrate that the
    error was harmful”); see also Bey v. Superintendent Greene SCI, 
    856 F.3d 230
    , 242 n.65
    (3d Cir. 2017). Although in its brief the Commonwealth made no argument on harmless
    error related to the due process claim, therefore waiving that argument, we can reach
    harmless error analysis sua sponte. See United States v. Faulks, 
    201 F.3d 208
    , 213 (3d
    Cir. 2000).
    11