Nuzzio Begaren v. Secretary of Corrections ( 2022 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUN 6 2022
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
NUZZIO BEGAREN, No. 20-55949
Petitioner-Appellant, D.C. No.
8:17-cv-02178-DMG-SHK
v.
SECRETARY OF CORRECTIONS, MEMORANDUM*
(CDCR),
Respondent-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Dolly M. Gee, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted April 15, 2022
Pasadena, California
Before: SMITH,** BADE, and LEE, Circuit Judges.
Petitioner Nuzzio Begaren was convicted in California state court of
conspiracy to commit murder and the first-degree murder of his wife, Elizabeth
Begaren. Petitioner unsuccessfully pursued direct and collateral relief in the
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The Honorable D. Brooks Smith, United States Circuit Judge for the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, sitting by designation.
California courts. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, he filed a petition for habeas relief
in District Court. The District Court denied his petition, and he appealed. For the
reasons stated below, we affirm the District Court’s denial of habeas relief.
We review the District Court’s decision de novo. Noguera v. Davis, 5 F.4th
1020, 1034 (9th Cir. 2021). Our review is constrained by the Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”). See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). Under
AEDPA, we defer to a state court’s decision on any claim that was adjudicated on
the merits unless the decision was: (1) “contrary to, or involved an unreasonable
application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court
of the United States”; or (2) “based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in
light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.” Id. When, as here, a
state court has ruled on the claims presented in the petition without issuing a
reasoned opinion, the petitioner satisfies the “unreasonable application prong” of
§ 2254(d)(1) by demonstrating that there was “no reasonable basis” for the state
court’s decision. Noguera, 5 F.4th at 1034 (internal quotation marks omitted)
(quoting Cullen v. Pinholster, 563 U.S. 170, 187–88 (2011)). In other words, we
“must determine what arguments or theories . . . could have supported[] the state
court’s decision; and then [we] must ask whether it is possible fairminded jurists
could disagree that those arguments or theories are inconsistent with the holding in
a prior decision of [the Supreme] Court.” Id. (alterations in original) (quoting
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Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 102 (2011)).
1. To establish a violation under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963),
a petitioner must demonstrate that the prosecution or its agents suppressed evidence
favorable to the petitioner, and the suppression of that evidence must have
prejudiced the petitioner’s case. Comstock v. Humphries, 786 F.3d 701, 708 (9th
Cir. 2015). To determine whether the suppression of favorable evidence was
prejudicial, we consider “whether the favorable evidence could reasonably be taken
to put the whole case in such a different light as to undermine confidence in the
verdict.” Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 290 (1999) (internal quotation marks
omitted) (quoting Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 435 (1995)).
Petitioner asserted a Brady violation based on the state’s failure to disclose
the use of an informant to interview Rudy Duran. But the California Supreme Court
could have reasonably determined that the failure to disclose this evidence did not
prejudice Petitioner. The jury was already given ample reason to distrust Duran;
during cross-examination, Duran admitted that he expected favorable treatment from
the state for his testimony and that his trial testimony contradicted his prior
statements to police. Moreover, Duran’s statement to the informant was consistent
with Duran’s testimony at trial. Finally, Duran’s testimony was corroborated by the
phone bill Petitioner threw out in 1998.
Additionally, the state court could have reasonably determined that no Brady
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violation occurred when the state failed to provide the defense with the plea deals
entered by Duran, Jose Sandoval, and Guillermo Espinoza. Those deals were
completed after trial, so they could not have been suppressed and do not undermine
our confidence in the verdict. See Strickler, 527 U.S. at 282–83, 290.
2. For Petitioner to prevail on his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel,
his counsel must have performed “below an objective standard of reasonableness.”
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687–88 (1984). Further, that failure must
have prejudiced Petitioner. Id. at 691–92.
The California Supreme Court could have reasonably concluded that
Petitioner’s trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to cross-examine Detective
Wyatt about the circumstances of Raphael Miranda’s confession, in particular
Miranda’s allegation that it was coerced. There is no indication that trial counsel
was, or should have been, aware of Miranda’s allegations, or that counsel had any
reason to investigate Miranda’s confession. Langford v. Day, 110 F.3d 1380, 1387
(9th Cir. 1996). Even if counsel had attempted to introduce this evidence, the
California Supreme Court could have reasonably concluded that the trial court would
have excluded the evidence as improper character evidence or for creating a
“substantial danger of . . . confusing the issues.” See Cal. Evid. Code §§ 352,
1101(b). Thus, the state court could have reasonably concluded that, even if trial
counsel performed deficiently, Petitioner was not prejudiced.
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The California Supreme Court could also have reasonably held that
Petitioner’s trial counsel was not ineffective for not objecting to the admission of
Angelica Begaren’s statements to the police. It appears that counsel made a strategic
decision to allow her statements into evidence, and we will not second-guess trial
counsel’s decision. Matylinsky v. Budge, 577 F.3d 1083, 1091 (9th Cir. 2009).
Furthermore, the admission of her statements did not prejudice Petitioner. They
actually corroborated his version of events and contradicted Sandoval’s and Duran’s
testimony—the prosecution’s “star” witnesses.
Finally, because Petitioner’s claims all fail, appellate counsel’s decision not
to raise them on direct appeal was not ineffective. See Bailey v. Newland, 263 F.3d
1022, 1033–34 (9th Cir. 2001) (holding appellate counsel is ineffective only if they
fail to raise a “winning issue” on direct appeal). As such, the California Supreme
Court reasonably rejected Petitioner’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.
AFFIRMED.
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