Crawford v. Drew

FILED
DEC 302009
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Clerk, U.S. District and
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Bankruptcy Courts
James B. Crawford, )
)
Petitioner, )
v.
)
) Civil Action No.
09 2447
)
D.B. Drew, Warden, )
)
Respondent. )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before the court is the petitioner's pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus and
application to proceed in forma pauperis. The application will be granted for the purposes of this
decision, and the petition will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
Petitioner is a prisoner under sentence imposed after a jury trial in 1987 by the Superior
Court for the District of Columbia. Now confined at the United States Penitentiary in Coleman,
Florida, he alleges that he was convicted on insufficient evidence, that he had ineffective
assistance of counsel, that judicial bias tainted his trial, and that his conviction was infected with
other procedural irregularities. See Pet. `` 12-13.
Collateral challenges to sentences imposed by the Superior Court must be brought in that
court under D.C. Code § 23-110. See Blair-Bey v. Quick, 151 F.3d 1036, 1042 (D.C. Cir. 1998)
(§ 23-110 is exclusive remedy for such challenges). "An application for a writ of habeas corpus
in behalf of a prisoner who is authorized to apply for relief by motion [under § 23-110] shall not
be entertained by ... any Federal ... court if it appears ... that the Superior Court has denied
him relief, unless it also appears that the remedy by motion is inadequate or ineffective to test the
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legality of his detention." D.C. Code § 23-110(g). Unlike other prisoners convicted in state
courts or those convicted in a United States District Court, "District of Columbia prisoner[s]
ha[ ve] no recourse to a federal judicial forum [under either Section 2254 or Section 2255] unless
[it is shown that] the local remedy is inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of his
detention." Garris v. Lindsay, 794 F.2d 722, 726 (D.C. Cir. 1986) (internal footnote and
quotation marks omitted); see Byrd v. Henderson, 119 F.3d 34, 36-37 (D.C. Cir. 1997) ("In order
to collaterally attack his sentence in an Article III court a District of Columbia prisoner faces a
hurdle that a federal prisoner does not.")
Generally,"[s]ection 23-110 has been found to be adequate and effective because it is
coextensive with habeas corpus." Saleh v. Braxton, 788 F. Supp. 1232 (D.D.C. 1992); accord
Blair-Bey v. Quick, 151 F.3d at 1042 (describing § 23-110 remedy as "analogous to 28 U.S.c.
§ 2255 for prisoners sentenced in D.C. Superior Court who wished to challenge their conviction
or sentence.").
In determining whether the local remedy is 'inadequate or ineffective,' we
are guided by judicial interpretations ofthe statutory provisions enabling federal
prisoners to challenge their convictions. The federal and local statutes are nearly
identical in language, and functionally they are equivalent. The remedy now
available to District of Columbia prisoners was patterned after that conferred upon
federal prisoners, and both remedies are commensurate with habeas corpus. That
judges of the Superior Court do not have the tenure and salary protection afforded
federal judges does not call for a different conclusion. "[T]he judges of the
Superior Court ofthe District of Columbia must be presumed competent to decide
all issues, including constitutional issues, that routinely arise in the trial of
criminal cases."
Garris v. Lindsay, 794 F.2d at 726 (quoting Swain v. Pressley, 430 U.S.372, 382-83 (1977»
(footnotes omitted). The mere denial of relief by the local courts does not render the local
remedy inadequate or ineffective. Garris v. Lindsay, 794 F.2d at 727; Charles v. Chandler, 180
F.3d 753, 756-58 (6th Cir. 1999) (citing cases); Wilson v. Office a/the Chairperson, 892 F. Supp.
277,280 (D.D.C. 1995).
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The petition does not indicate whether the petitioner has sought relief through a motion
under § 23-110. In any case, the petition does not claim that a motion under § 23-110 is
inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of petitioner's detention. Accordingly, this habeas
petition will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
A separate order accompanies this mem_)I"<::.=::;
Date: I~ It // tJ7
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