Lamar v. Zavaras

FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
July 19, 2011
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
TENTH CIRCUIT
ANDREW MARK LAMAR,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
No. 11-1131
ARISTEDES ZAVARAS, Executive (D. Colorado)
Director of the Department of (D.C. No. 1:10-CV-02420-ZLW)
Corrections; JOHN W. SUTHERS, the
Attorney General of the State of
Colorado,
Respondents - Appellees.
ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE
OF APPEALABILITY
Before BRISCOE, Chief Judge, MURPHY, and MATHESON, Circuit Judges.
Proceeding pro se, Andrew Mark Lamar seeks a certificate of appealability
(“COA”) from this court so he can appeal the district court’s denial of his 28
U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (providing no
appeal may be taken from a final order disposing of a § 2254 petition unless the
petitioner first obtains a COA). Because Lamar has not “made a substantial
showing of the denial of a constitutional right,” this court denies his request for a
COA and dismisses this appeal. Id. § 2253(c)(2).
On April 27, 2007, a Colorado jury convicted Lamar of sexual assault. He
was sentenced to an indeterminate term of thirty-five years to life. Lamar’s
appointed counsel initiated a direct appeal and filed an opening brief raising five
issues: (1) the trial court erred by denying Lamar’s request to change his plea to
not guilty by reason of insanity, (2) Lamar’s waiver of his right to be represented
by counsel during his trial was constitutionally deficient, (3) the prosecution
committed misconduct during the trial, (4) the trial court erred by failing to rule
on Lamar’s motion for a new trial, and (5) Lamar’s sentence was illegal. After
filing the opening brief, Lamar’s counsel was permitted to withdraw. Although
the Colorado Court of Appeals (“CCA”) allowed Lamar to proceed with the
appeal pro se, it denied his request to strike the opening brief or file a
supplemental brief. He did, however, file a pro se reply brief.
The CCA affirmed Lamar’s conviction but remanded the matter for
resentencing. Lamar filed a petition for rehearing from that ruling, raising, inter
alia, constitutional claims related to the CCA’s refusal to permit him to file a pro
se opening brief. That petition and Lamar’s subsequent petition for certiorari to
the Colorado Supreme Court were both denied.
On November 19, 2010, Lamar filed an application for a writ of habeas
corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the United States District Court for the
District of Colorado. In this application, Lamar characterized his claims as
follows: (1) he was deprived of his due process right to an adequate appellate
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review, (2) he was deprived of his due process right to maintain control over his
appeal when the CCA “forced” an appellate lawyer on him, and (3) he was
deprived of his First Amendment right to access the courts. The first two of these
claims were included in the issues Lamar raised in his state petition for rehearing;
he argues the third claim was presented by implication.
Respondents filed a pre-answer response, arguing Lamar’s § 2254 petition
should be dismissed without prejudice because the claims he sought to raise were
not exhausted in state court. See Miranda v. Cooper, 967 F.3d 392, 398 (10th
Cir. 1992) (“In order to satisfy the exhaustion requirement, a federal habeas
corpus petitioner must show that a state appellate court has had the opportunity to
rule on the same claim presented in federal court, or that at the time he filed his
federal petition, he had no available state avenue of redress.” (citation omitted)).
Specifically, Respondents noted Lamar failed to seek post-conviction review of
his claims in state court pursuant to Colo. R. Crim. P. 35. The district court
agreed and dismissed Lamar’s § 2254 petition without prejudice for failure to
exhaust his state court remedies. The court rejected Lamar’s argument that his
claims were fairly presented to the state court in the petition for rehearing and the
petition for certiorari filed with the Colorado Supreme Court, concluding they
were not presented in a procedurally proper manner. Kelly v. Cent. Bank & Trust
Co., 794 P.2d 1037, 1044-45 (Colo. Ct. App. 1989) (refusing to consider an
argument raised for the first time in a petition for rehearing).
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Lamar cannot appeal the district court’s dismissal of his habeas application
unless he first obtains a certificate of appealability (“COA”). See 28 U.S.C.
§ 2253(c). To be entitled to a COA, Lamar must show “that jurists of reason
would find it debatable whether the district court was correct in its procedural
ruling.” Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 474, 484-85 (2000) (holding that when a
district court dismisses a habeas petition on procedural grounds, a petitioner is
entitled to a COA only if he shows both that reasonable jurists would find it
debatable whether he had stated a valid constitutional claim and debatable
whether the district court’s procedural ruling was correct).
In his original § 2254 petition filed on November 8, 2010, Lamar notified
the court that he has appealed the sentence imposed on May 5, 2010, after the
matter was remanded by the CCA for resentencing. The state court docket
indicates Lamar’s opening brief was filed on June 17, 2011, and the answer brief
is not due until November 29, 2011. Accordingly, because Lamar’s direct appeal
from his conviction and sentence is still pending before the Colorado courts, he
has not exhausted all available state remedies. 1 See Daegele v. Crouse, 429 F.2d
503, 504-05 (10th Cir. 1970) (holding federal habeas proceeding was properly
dismissed for failure to exhaust state remedies when petitioner’s direct appeal
from resentencing was still pending in state court at the time he sought habeas
1
The one-year limitations period set out in 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A) will
not begin to run until Lamar’s direct appeal is resolved by the Colorado state
courts.
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relief). Accordingly, our review of the record demonstrates the district court’s
dismissal of Lamar’s § 2254 petition without prejudice for failure to exhaust state
remedies 2 is not deserving of further proceedings or subject to a different
resolution on appeal. This court denies Lamar’s application for a certificate of
appealability and dismisses this appeal. Lamar’s motion to proceed in forma
pauperis on appeal is granted. All other outstanding motions are denied as
moot.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
2
In light of our conclusion that Lamar’s direct appeal is still pending in
state court, it is unnecessary for this court to decide whether the federal
constitutional claims he seeks to raise in his § 2254 habeas petition were fairly
presented to the Colorado courts in the petition for rehearing. See Castille v.
Peoples, 489 U.S. 346, 351 (1989) (“[W]here the claim has been presented for the
first and only time in a procedural context in which its merits will not be
considered unless there are special and important reasons therefor, [r]aising the
claim in such a fashion does not, for the relevant purpose, constitute fair
presentation.” (citation and quotations omitted)). But see Bowser v. Boggs, 20
F.3d 1060, 1063 & 1063 n.4 (10th Cir. 1994) ((concluding state habeas petitioner
exhausted his state remedies by raising a claim challenging the adjudication of his
appeal in a petition for rehearing).
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