Frankie Washington v. Derral Adams ( 2019 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FEB 11 2019
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
FRANKIE KAREN WASHINGTON, No. 17-55690
Petitioner-Appellant, D.C. No. 06-156-DOC (PLA)
v.
MEMORANDUM*
DERRAL G. ADAMS, Warden,
Respondent-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
The Honorable David O. Carter, Presiding
Submitted February 6, 2019**
Pasadena, California
Before: WARDLAW and BEA, Circuit Judges, and MURPHY,*** District Judge.
Frankie Washington, a California state prisoner, appeals the district court’s
denial and dismissal of her petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as
provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral
argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
***
The Honorable Stephen J. Murphy, III, United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Michigan, sitting by designation.
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§ 2254. Her petition raised a sentencing claim based in part on Cunningham v.
California, 549 U.S. 270 (2007). The district court granted a certificate of
appealability. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253.
Washington was convicted in state court on thirteen counts—including six
counts of attempted murder and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon—
after she and her accomplices kidnapped a minor at gunpoint and shot at an
occupied residence at night with multiple weapons, including an assault rifle. Each
count of attempted murder was for each of the home’s occupants. The jury found,
with respect to each attempted murder, that a principal was armed with a firearm.
On February 21, 2003, the trial court sentenced Washington to an aggregate
sentence including an upper-term sentence on Count 8, one of the counts of
attempted murder. The trial court explained that the upper term sentence was “due
to the degree of danger and the use of high-powered weapons.” The sentencing
occurred before the Supreme Court decided Cunningham.
Adams conceded that the upper limit sentencing on Count 8 was rendered
erroneous by Cunningham. The district court determined, however, that the error
was harmless under Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619 (1993). We agree.
A federal constitutional error is not harmless if it resulted in actual prejudice,
which occurs if the error had a substantial and injurious effect. Brecht, 507 U.S. at637–38. Washington must show that there is a “reasonable probability” that the
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jury would have reached a different result but for the alleged error. Clark v. Brown,
450 F.3d 898, 916 (9th Cir. 2006). Brecht’s “substantial and injurious effect” test
applies to sentencing errors. Stokley v. Ryan, 705 F.3d 401, 403 (9th Cir. 2012).
For habeas relief to be appropriate under Brecht for a Cunningham error, the
district court must be in “‘grave doubt’ as to whether a jury would have found the
relevant aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt.” Butler v. Curry, 528 F.3d
624, 648 (9th Cir. 2008) (citing O’Neal v. McAninch, 513 U.S. 432, 436 (1995)). A
Cunningham error is harmless if the court has no grave doubt that a jury would
have found at least one aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.The district court correctly found no reasonable probability that the jury
would not have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the attempted murder in
Count 8 was aggravated by the dangerous manner in which it was committed.
There was overwhelming evidence of dangerousness: one firearm was a military
assault weapon, twenty bullet casings were recovered at the scene, and bullet holes
were found at several locations inside and outside the residence. The evidence
shows a level of danger that exceeds that inherent in six attempted murders absent
aggravating circumstances. We have no grave doubt that the jury would have
found beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime was aggravated.
The trial court also did not improperly impose the upper term on Count 8
based on the same facts used to sentence Washington consecutively on her
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multiple convictions. The other counts of attempted murder were imposed
consecutively in part because they involved separate victims. And, although the
trial court sentenced Washington consecutively on two counts of assault with a
deadly weapon, the counts involved the kidnapping of the minor from her home.
The trial court therefore did not sentence Washington to the upper term on Count 8
using the same facts supporting the consecutive sentences on other counts.
Washington does not show actual prejudice under Brecht. The trial court’s
imposition of the upper term sentence on Count 8 was harmless error.
AFFIRMED.
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