Opposition — Nix v. Williams
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WO. 32-1651
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
October Term, 1962
CRISPUS NIX, Warden of the lowa
State Penitentiary,
vs. ”
ROBERT ANTHONY WILLIAMS,
Respondent.
PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI
THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
ON
TO
POR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
RESPONDENT'S BRIEF IN OPPOSITION
: ROBE.RT BARTELS
College of Law
é. Arizona State University
‘ Tempe, Arizona #52867
4 (602) 965-7053 sta
Counsel for Respondent i
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NO. 82-1651
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
October Term, 1982
CRISPUS NIX, Warden of the Iowa
State Penitentiary,
Petitioner,
vs.
ROBERT ANTHONY WILLIAMS,
Respondent.
- oo eee
In Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
to the United States Court of Appeals
for the Eighth Circuit
RESPONDENT'S BRIEF IN OPPOSITION
Since the filing of the Petition, the opinion of the Court
Appeals has been reported at 700 F.cd 1164.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Since most of the underlying facts in this case are recounted
in this Court's opinions in Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387 (1977),
they require only brief attention here. on December 24, 1968, ten
year-old Pamela Powers disappeared from the Des Moines, Iowa,
YMCA. Suspicion focused on Respondent Williams, and a warrant for
his arrest on a charge of “child-stealing” was filed in state
court. On December 26, acting on the advice of his attorney,
Henry T. McKnight, Williams surrendered to the police in Daven-
port, Iowa, where he was arraigned on the warrant. Later on the
game day, Detective Cletus Leaming and another Des Moines police
officer drove to Davenport to pick up Williams and return him to
Des Moines. 430 U.S. at 390-391.
Before leaving Des Moines, Leaming agreed with Williams’
attorney that Williams would not be questioned on the return trip.
Nevertheless, during the trip from Davenport to Des Moines, Leaming
initiated a conversation with Williams that Leaming later conceded
was purposefully dezigned to elicit as much incriminating infor-
mation as possible from Williams before he could reach his attor-
eaming's efforts included an appeal to Williams’ religious
4
ney.
sympathies and statements that he and Williams should stop on the
way to Des Moines and locate the body of the victim. Williams
complied with these suggestions, and led Leaming and other police
officers to the body. 430 U.S. at 391-393.
At Williams’ first trial, the State introduced into evidence
statements to Leaming. The resulting conviction was af-
firmed by the Iowa Supreme Court. State v. Williams, 182 N.W. 2d
396 (1970). However, in a habeas corpus proceeding, the United
States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa reversed
the conviction, holding tha
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Leaming had violated Williams’ Fifth
and Sixth Amendment rights. Williams v. Brewer, 375 F. Supp. 170
(S.D. Iowa 1974). Both the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals,
Williams v. Brewer, 509 F.2d 227 (1975), and this Court, Brewer Vv.
Williams, supra, affirmed the District Court's reversal.!
At Williams’ retrial, the State sought to introduce evidence
derived from the victim's body under a so-called “inevitable dis-
covery” exception to the exclusionary rule. The trial court up-~
held this effort, finding that the body probably would have been
found by searchers even if Leaming had not vioalted Williams’ con-
aan ——_—
1 phis Court's holding reached only the Sixth Amendment violation.
430 U.S. at 397-98.
stitutional rights.
by the Iowa
(1979). Th
doctrine under
challenged evidse
absence of the u
the constitution
held that the St
260.
Williams aga
Court na numbe
to tr ,owa ipr
covery” doctrine
Williams Nix,
A68). However,
everst | > Pa
700 F.2d 164 (1
its pini t a
Jeclined ¢t i
or hy t ticai-
evidence btaine
ecunsel,” the )
inevitable-disc
benefit without
700 F.2d at 169
held that the st
700 F.2d at 1171
Supieme Court. State v._
Williams' subsequent conviction was upheld
Williaws, 285 N.W. 2d 248
t court articulated a two-pronged inevitable-discovery
which the State was required to show (1) that the
ate ft
robably would ha
constitutio
riolation was comm
ad satisfied bot
ucght habeas cory
. » 7
rounds, includi
yurte's re °
irt’s applicati
€ Distri > urt
™ eB «
lowa NO suU-4
eal the Eight?
the District
983) (Pet at Al) T
single Llssue inevi
je “whether to recog!
independent-source ex
1 in vioiliatior sf the
overy
provi
exception the 5t
ng that the poli
(Pet. at AlO-Al
ve been discovered in the
nal violation, and (2) that
itted in good faith. It then
rh prongs. 285 N.W. 2d at
pus relief in the District
ng a multi-level challenge
ion of the “inevitable dis-
fenied the petition.
9-D, Dec. 18, 1981 (Pet. at
cuit Court of Appeals
Court. Williams v. Nix,
he Court of Appeals confined
vitable discovery. Although it
table-discovery
,
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exception to the rule excluding
sld that “if there is to be an
ate should not receive its
ce did not act in bad faith.*
The Court of Appeals then
tad failed to show lack of bad faith.
7).
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
il. Contrary to tne state's assertions, it naa ample notice
of the “good faith" issue on which the Court of Appeals decided
this case: The Iowa Supreme Court announced good faith as an
element of its hypothetical inevitable discovery doctrine; Wil-
liams and the State raised and argued Leaming's good faith both
in the District Court and in the Court of Appeals; and the State
specifically argued that the Court of Appeals should decide the
good faith issue.
2. The decision of the Court of Appeals was correct under
Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590 (1975), and Dunaway v. New York,
442 U.S. 200 (1979). Williams led Leaming to the body soon after
the violation of his rights; there were no intervening circum-
stances; and Leaming's intentional elicitation of incriminating
information before Williams could consult with his attorney --
in violation of Leaming's agreement with that attorney -- was
flagrantly unconstitutional.
3. This Court need not consider or decide the validity of any
inevitable-discovery doctrine in the context of this case, since
the Court of Appeals was correct in holding (a) that any valid
inevitable-discovery doctrine must include a good faith element
and (b) that good faith was not established. Good faith is a par-
ticularly important issue under the "attenuation" exception to the
exclusionary rule under Brown v. Illinois and Dunaway v. New York,
supra, and there is no reason why*it should be any less an issue
under any inevitable-discovery exception. Moreover, permitting the
introduction of ‘evidence derived from bad faith violations of the
Sixth Amendment would remove the incentive for the police to use
legal means to obtain such evidence, and would impugn the integrity
of the judicial process.
4. The Court of Appeals was correct in concluding that
Leaming did not act in good faith. This court's decision in
Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387 (1977), established that Leaming
intentionally and purposefully sought to elicit incriminating in-
formation from Williams before he could reach his attorney, and
that this was in violation of an agreement with that attorney.
Especially in light of Massiah v. United States, 37° U.S. 201
(1963), Leaming could not have believed, reasonably or otherwise,
that this conduct did not violate Williams’ Sixth Amendment
rights. Consequently, Leaming's good faith was established under
a “subjective” or an “objective” standard.
5. A grant of certiorari in this case also would be inap-
propriate because even if an inevitable-discovery doctrine without
a good faith element were valid, the result reached by the Court
of Appeals would stand. Additional evidence introduced in the
District Court established (a) that the search for the victim's
body that was initiated two days after her disappearance would not
have extended into Polk County, where the body was located, and
(b) that even if the search had extended into Polk County,
searchers would not have been able to see the body. Thus, even
application of the broadest possible inevitable-discovery doctrine
would affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
6. This is not an appropriate case for this Court to consider
an extension of Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465 (1976), beyond
the Fourth Amendment context. The holding and rationale of Stone
were carefully limited to the judicially-created exclusionary rule
for Fourth Amendment violations. See also Rose v. Mitchell,
443 U.S. 545 (1978). Unlike the claimed Fourth Amendment viola-
t.ons in Stone, the Sixth Amendment violations in this
case involved personal rights, and directly affected the in-
tegrity of the judicial process. Moreover, extension of Stone
would pe especially inappropriate in this case because the con-
stitutional violations were not committed in good faith. Finally,
ypplication of S*o"- *> this case would not chenge the result in
any event, since Williams did not have a full and fair opportunity
to litigate his claims in the state courts.
REASONS FOR DENYING THE WRIT
I. THE STATE HAD AMPLE NOTICE OF, AND LITIGATED, THE
"GOOD FAITH" ISSUE IN THE DISTRICT COURT AND
COURT OF APPEALS.
As noted previously, the Court of Appeals did not reach
the question of whether the “inevitable discovery” doctrine ap-
plied by the Iowa Suprem Court was constitutionally valid.
However, the Court of Appeals did hold that if an inevitable-
discovery doctrine was to be recognized, it must include a “good
faith" element, and that the State had failed to show that Detec-
tive Leaming acted in good faith when he committed the violations
of Williams’ constitutional rights that led to the discovery of
the evidence in question.
The State's first,and lengthiest, complaint about the decision
below is that the State had no “real notice” of the “good faith®
issue on which the Court of Appeals based its holding, and that
that issue should have been remanded to the District Court for a
“limited evidentiary hearing... .” (Pet. at 8-9). ‘This com-
plaint is totally without merit because the State in fact had ample
notice of the “good faith" issue -- and argued it on the merits --
throughout the proceedings in the District Court and the Court of
Appeals:
1. Prior to the filing of the petition for a writ of
habeas corpus in the District Court, the Iowa Supreme Court
identified “good faith" as a critical element in the hypothetical
inevitable-disccvery doctrine it applied. 285 N.W. 2d at
260.
2. The initial memorandum that was filed in the District
Court in support of the petition for a writ of habeas corpus
raised the lack-of-bad faith element of the Iowa Supreme Court's
hypothetical inevitable discovery test. (Memorandum filed
~~
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.
Moreover, in uU
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Mar. 30, 1981, p. 2 ging that this Court's
decision in Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590 (1975), required re-
versal of the Iowa Supreme Court's inevitable-discovery Gecision,
.
Williams argued in the District Court that Detective Leaming’s
conduct was a flagrant i ation of his rights. (7a. at 23).
Cine *¢) sr anevu"™ _ _™~ 7 > . i+ - had r - hed
Since flagrancy is simply ‘ xsite jood faith,
Dunaway OW rk, 442 > 200, 2é b> ane (1979), State v.
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Williams, 28 i1.W. 2d 248, ) (Ia. 1979), this argument certainly
gave notice that Detective Leaming's lack f good faith was an
The at t ale with t? faith”
issue in its initial brief int trict irt, arguing that
Detective Leamin i ct i fait - (Br €f filed April 1,
1981, p 11-12)
4. The District Court not nly recognized the “good
faith” element, but als sipheld the inevitable-discovery test
articulated by the Iowa Supreme Court in part “because the test
re ires a : f xd fait n the part € the police... ."
5. Although Williams' opening brief in the Court of
Appeals argued that Detective Leaming 4id not act in good faith
(Appellant's Brief at 24), the State at no time complained that
in the District Court.
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dressed the “good faith” issue on its merits (Appellee's Brief at
22). Moreover, at ora] argument counsel for the State explicitly
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sosition that the State should have the
burden of establishing good faith, and that the State had done so.
700 F.2d at 1169, n.5; 1174-1175 (Pet. at Al0, n.5; A24-A26).
Given the facts outlined above, the State's reliance on Jus-
tice Powell's concurring opinion in Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S.
387, 414, n.3 (1977) (Pet. at 8-9), is totally misplaced. In
Brewer, Justice Powell declined to consider the applicability of
Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465 (1977), because it had never been
mentioned in any of the briefs, even though the State's Reply
Brief had been filed after Stone was decided. In the instant case,
by contrast, the “good faith" issue had been raised in the Dis-
trict Court and was briefed by both parties in the Court of Appeals
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prior t oral argument.
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In sum, the State had ample notice that Detective Leaming S
700d faith was an issue, and consistently pursued the strategy in
the District Court and Court of Appeals of arguins that good
faith was established on the record before those courts. Conse-
juently, the State’s argument for a remand for a “limited evi-
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II ISION OF F : YF A EAI WAS JRRECT
NDER 2IOR ECISIONS THIS COURT.
This Court als should deny the petition for a writ of
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certi i p De iuSt tne le a> tne = urt >t Appeais “= ViZd.»
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Cha ice c 3 i sue snouic sve been exclucec because 1
was obtained as the direct result of acts by a state law enforce-
ment officer that (a) violated the Sixt Amendment and (b) were
not committe in "good faith” -- plainly was correct under
Brown T1li is, 422 U.S 590 (1975), and D way v. New York,
In Brown, the defendant was arrested, without probable cause,
at about 7:45 p.m. Following repeated Miranda warnings, he gave
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two incriminating statements, firs 0 p.m., and then
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between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. the following day. This Court re-
versed Brown's conviction, holding tht both statements were
fruits of the illegal arrest, and that neither the Miranda war-
nings nor any other factors sufficiently attenuated the taint of
For similar reasons, the State's references to Jackson v. Denno,
378 U.S. 478 (1964), and United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218
(1967) (Pet. at 10-11) also are misplaced.
the illegality. 422 U.S. at 604-605.
In Dunaway. the defendant was taken into enstody without
probable cause and interrogated after he was given Miranda war-
mings. The defendant waived counsel and eventually made state-
ments that incriminated him. Holding that Dunaway was “vir-
y a replica of® Brown, this Court held that the defendant's
statements were illegal fruits of the unconstitutional seizure
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sefendant, and that neither the fact that the police had
complied with Miranda nor the fact that the defendant's state-
nts were voluntary attenuated the taint of the initial ille-
gality. 442 U.S. at 218-219.
In both Brown and Dunaway, this Court's focus was on the
actual causal connection between the initial constitutional vio-
lations and the evidence derived therefrom. This Court specifi-
cally eschewed any simple “but for" causal test; rather, the ques-
tion was whether the challenged evidence was obtained through
exploitation of the primary illegality. In determining that
question, three factors were to be considered: (1) the "temporal
proximity f£ the illegality and the evidence; (2) “the presence
of intervening circumstances"; and (3) “particularly, the purpose
anc flagrancy of the official misconduct ...." This Court
noted specifically that “the burden of showing admissibility
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, Of course, on the prosecution." 422 U.S. at 603-604; 442
An examination of these factors in the instant case leaves no
doubt as to the correctness of the result reached by the Court of
Appeals. First, the “temporal proximity” of the unconstitutional
statements and the discovery of the body was as close as that in
Brown and Dunaway. Second, there were no intervening circumstances
between the violation of Williams’ constitutional rights and the
discovery of the body. Third, the official misconduct in the
instant case was especially flagrant. As this Court held in Brewer
v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387 (1977), Leaming had agreed with Williams’
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he would not interrogate
Davenport lo ws Moines. Nevec-
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of conduct which he admitted
s much incriminating infor-
sre he could reach McKnight.
his Court held
was flagrant because “the
tuality of purposefulness’ in
ce’ admittedly undertaken ‘in
cs snaway v. New York,
rown Illinois, supra,
stant case, Leaming's uncon-
lition for evidence
t something incriminating
it side of the coin
nably be said that Leaming
slly set out to elicit
ums before he could get to his
IlI. THE COURT OF APPEALS' CONCLUSION THAT ANY VALID
"INEVITABLE DISCOVERY" DOCTRINE MUST INCLUDE A
"GOOD FAITH" ELEMENT WAS CORRECT, AND DID NOT
CONFLICT WITH DECISIONS IN OTHER CIRCUITS.
This Court has not decided the validity of any “inevi-
table discovery” exception to the exclusionary rule in the Fourth,
Fifth, or Sixth Amendment context. United States v. Crews, 445
U.S. 463, 475, n.22 (1980). However, this Court's decisions re-
garding the evidentiary “fruits” of constitutional violations
strongly suggest the impropriety of such an exception, since those
decisions uniformly have determined the admissibility of challenged
evidence on the basis of whether the evidence “has been come at by
exploitation of [illegal conduct] or instead by means sufficiently
distinguishable to be purged of the primary taint,” Wong Sun v.
United States, 371 U.S. 471, 488 (1964) (emphasis added) -- not
on the basis of whether the evidence hypothetically would have
been discovered if the primary illegality had not occurred. See
also Division II, supra: United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218,
240 (1967).°
In any event, this Court need not, and should not, reach the
issue of the validity of an inevitable-discovery doctrine in
this case. Eyen assuming, as the Court of Appeals did, that some
inevitable-discovery doctrine is constitutionally valid, the
evidence in question here was inadmissible because Leaming did
not act in good faith when he purposefully violated Williams’
constitutional rights.
Recognition of any hypothetical inevitable discovery doctrine
would seriously emasculate the purposes of the exclusionary
rule. Under that doctrine, even if the police were able to
obtain evidence by legal means, there would be little incen-
tive for them to use such means, rather than more *"convenient®
illegal means, since the evidence would be admissible in any
event. Application of the hypothetical inevitable-discovery
doctrine also would involve a highly subjective and ambiguous
“factual” inquiry, and hence a high potential for abuse.
In this regard, the iorari complains
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that the Court of Appeals erred in including a "good faith” ele-
ment in the inevitable-discovery doctrine that it assumed to be
valid. siven this Court's prior decisions, however, this com-
plaint has merit. In applying the “attenuation” doctrine to
jeter whether the “but-for” fruit f nstitutional
luct may be admitted into evidence, this srt has made it
lear that t!? fiagrancy of é rimary illegality is a “par-
ti larly” i rtant fact Browr T1li , supra, 422
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trine are potentially more far-reaching than those of the attenu-
ly a 3 that ¢t é ! 7 >t would
r if wo , t a » & ‘ ttis¢ Sisincentive
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t the intentional use f un nstitutional eans to gather evi-
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lence, rather than less venient nstitutional means.
on . . .
e preceding analysis applies with special force when the pri-
mary illegality is a violation € the Sixth Amendment, rather than
the } irth Amendment. Since Sixth Amendment violations neces-
sarily ‘cur after the initiation of formal judicial proceedings,
Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682 (1972), bad faith police conduct
in the Sixth Amendment context directly affects the integrity of
the idicial process. Cf. Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 479
(1977); see Division VI, infra.
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IV.
THE COUR1 OF APPEALS CORRECTLY CONCLUDED THAT
DETECTIVE LEAMING DID NOT ACT IN GOOD FAITH.
Having correctly decided that the State could prevail on
an inevitable-discovery theory, if
at all, only upon a showing
that Leaming acted in good faith when he violated Williams’ con-
stitutional rights, the Court of A
such a showing had not been made.
ful
Opinion itself demonstrates, 7
A1l3-A17), this holding was correct
whether good faith is regarded as
issue.
A From what the Court of
jective” point of view, all of the
contradicts any notion that Leamin
that he was not violating Williams
facts already established in this
Williams, supra, lack of g i fait
clusion. Like every court that ha
found that before he left Des Moin
port, Leaming made an agreement wi
would bring Williams straight back
tioning him. 430 U.S. at 391, 410
isolated from counsel, however, Le
ppeals went on to hold that
As the Court of Appeals’ care-
00 F.2d at 1171-1173 (Pet. at
; and this is so regardless of
a “subjective” or “objective”
Appeals characterized as a “sub-
evidence in the record directly
3 acted under an honest belief
' rights. Indeed, given the
Court's holding in Brewer v.
h is essentially a foregone con-
s reviewed this case, this Court
es to pick up Williams in Daven-
th Williams’ attorney that he
to Des Moines without ques-
, 415. As soon as Williams was
aming broke this agreement by
purposefully and intentionally attempting to obtain as much in-
criminating
before Williams could
6
the body --
at 399, 407-408, 411-412.
° As the Court of Appeals noted, 7
the record would not support any
actions on the ground that he wa
alive. That the State does not
a reason for Leaming's conduct i
Leaming insisted at the first tr
told him that
information as possible --
the victim was dead
including the location of
reach his attorney. 430 U.S.
00 F.2d at 1172 (Pet. at Al5),
attempt to “justify” Leaming'’s
s hoping to find the victim
suggest that it could prove such
s hardly surprising, since
ial that Williams’ attorney had
(2p. to Brewer v. Williams,
——— ee
Supra, at 96-97), and told Williams that they should stop and
locate “the body®
U.S. at 393).
in order to en
sure a “Christian burial” (430
ee
Especially given Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 (1963),
which this Court hae held to he “constitutionally indistinguish-
able” from this case, 430 U.S. at 400, it could not reasonabiy be
inferred that Leaming did not realize that intentionally and de-
signedly attempting to elicit evidence from a defendant before he
could reach his attorney -- in violation of an agreement with the
attorney -- would be unconstitutional. This conclusion is sup-
ported by Leaming's false denials that he had made an agreement
with Mc¥Fnight and that he had refused to permit another attorney,
Mr. Kelly, to accompany Williams from Davenport to Des Moines.
700 F.2d at 1173 (Pet. at Al6-Al7).
B. Under an “objective® view of “good faith," the factors
discussed in the preceding paragraphs and in the Court of Appeals’
opinion lead even more ineluctably to the conclusion that Leaming
@id not act in good faith. As this Court indicated in Harlow v.
Fitzgerald, supra, objective good faith is not established if the
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relevant state official eithés »9r reasonably should have
known that his conduct would violate the Constitution. The “ob-
jective” question of whether Leaming in fact knew that his conduct
would violate Williams’ Sixth Amendment rights is at least very
close to (if not the same as) the "subjective" question which the
Court of Appeals asked: whether Leaming believed that his conduct
would violate the right to counsel. Clearly, the answer to the
former question must be the same as the answer to the latter.
Similarly, particulariy in light of Massiah v. United States, it
is clear that Leaming reasonably should have known that inten-
tionally and designedly eliciting as much incriminating evidence
as possible from Williams before he could consult with his attor-
ney, in direct violation of an express agreement with that attorney,
would violate the Sixth Amendment.’
7
The same result also follows from application of this Court's
holdings in Brown v. Illinois and Dunaway v. New York, supra.
See Division II, supra.
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V. THE RECORD DOES NOT SHOW THAT THE VICTIM'S BODY
WOULD HAVE BEEN FOUND IF RESPONDENT'S CONSTITUTIONAL
RIGHTS HAND NOT BREEN VIOLATED.
The preceding paragraphs demonstrate that the Court of
Appeals’ decision concerning Leaming's lack of good faith was
legally and factually correct. Even if this were not the case,
however, a grant of certiorari would be inappropriate in this case
because . ven if an inevitable discovery doctrine without a good
faith element were applied to the record, the result reached by
the Court of Appeals would be upheld.
In concluding that the victim's body, and the evidence con-
nected therewith, probably would have been discovered “in any
event," the Iowa Supreme Court found (1) that an organized search
for the victim would have extended into Polk County, to the area
where the body was found, and (2) that the searchers would have
seen the body because it was highly visible. 285 N.W. 2d at 262.
Even under a “preponderance of the evidence” standard, '° however,
neither of these conclusions was correct.
A. The Search Would Not Have Extended Into Polk
County, Where the Body was Located.
On December 26, 1968, a group of volunteer searchers under
the direction of Iowa S3ureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) agents
Ruxlow and Mayer searched Poweshiek and Jasper Counties (both
located east of Polk County) for the victim's body. They discon-
tinued the search at the Polk County border at 3:00 p.m., before
Williams indicated he would take Leaming to the body. At the
suppression hearing preceding the second trial, Ruxlow testified
that he intended to continue the search into Polk County. How-
ever, all of the other eivdence in this record directly contra-
dicts this testimony (which Ruxlow gave after being informed by
the prosecuting attorney that the issue at the suppression hearing
would be whether he would have discovered the body if Williams
had not led the police to 1... «uxlow Depo. Tr. at 30):
10 under United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218 (1967), the proper
standard would be “clear and convinci:9g evidence.”
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were about to
complete the planned search. Certainly the prosecution did not
meet its burden of showing, even by a preponderance of the evi-
dence, that the search would have continued into Polk County.
B. Even if the Search Had Extended Into Polk County,
the Searchers Would Not Have Found the Body.
Even if the search had extended into Polk County, the
recor’ demonstrates that the searchers would not have found the
body, for two main reasons:
1. Even if the searchers had left their vehicles to search on
foot, they would not have seen the body, which was completely
hidden under a cover of snow and brush. (See District Court Ex,
1). In finding that the body would have been visible to the
searchers, the Iowa Supreme Court relied on the only two photo-
graphic exhibits then in the record (District Court Exhibits 3 and
5), which the court believed showed the body as it appeared when
the police first discovered it with Williams’ help:
The State also introduced photographs showing the
body as it was actually found. These photographs
show that Pamela Powers’ body would not have been
hidden by the inch of snow which accumulated in the
area in the evening of Secember i6 ... » In addition
the left leg of the body was poised midair, where
it would not have been readily covered by a subse-
quent snowfall.
State v. Williams, supra, 285 N.W. 2d at 262 (emphasis added).
The court apparently based this belief on Ruxlow's testimony at
the suppression hearing that Exhibit 5 showed the body exactly
as it was found. (1977 Suppression Tr. at 42).23
However, additional evidence introduced in the District Court
established beyond question that Exhibits 3 and 5 did not show
the body as it was found, and thus that the Iowa Supreme Court's
belief was incorrect:
1 Mr. Ruxlow's suppression testimony refers to State's Exhibits
C and D. These were introduced in the District Court as Pe-
titioner's Exhibits 3 and 5.
.
(a) In the habeas corpus proceeding, Ruxlow conceded that
Exhibit 5 was te\.. after the scene had been aitered and snow had
been removed. (Ruxlow Depo. Tr. at 17). Quite apart from this
concession, Exhibit 1 -- which was not available to the defense in
the state court proceedings (Dist. Ct. Tr. at 9-12) == demonstrated
clearly that Exhibit 5 could not possibly show the body as it was
found: While Exhibit 5 shows the body almost completely exposed
to view, Exhibit 1 shows the body completely covered with a blanket
of snow and obscured by brush. (See Appendix, pp. Al, A2, supra).
(ib! The record also demonstrates that Exhibit 3, (the
second photograph introduced at the 1977 suppression hearing) did
not show the body as it was found. After the body was found, @
police officer took a single initial photograph of the body as it
then appeared. After this first photograph was taken, the body
was moved and the scene was altered. (Ex. 13 at 189; 1977 Sup-
pression Tr. at 22-23). Exhibit 1, in which the body is virtually
indiscernible, must be the single initial photograph. Thus, all
the other photographs were taken after the scene had been disturbed.
5
.
. The preceding paragraphs show that it is unlikely the body
would have been discovered even assuming that searchers would have
left their vehicles in the area where the body sas located. The
record shows, however, that this assumption is unwarranted. Rux-
low testified that the searchers generally searched from their
vehicles; if they saw a “culvert or any out-building of an aban-
doned farm,” they were supposed to get out of their cars. (1977
Suppression Tr. at 47-48). District Court Exhibits 7, 8 and 9
were photographs taken from the road approaching the culvert
where the body was located. Although all of these photographs
show the location of the culvert, it is not visible in any of
them. The searchers therefore would not have left their cars to
search, and would not have found the body even if it had been more
Visible than Exhibit 1 shows it was. !?
VI. THIS is NUT AN APPKOPRIATE CASE PUK tx EXTENSION
OF STONE V. POWELL OUTSIDE THE FOURTH AMENDMENT
CONTEXT.
The State's final argument for the granting of certiorari
is that this case “raises the applicability of the doctrine of
Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465 [(1976)], in a non-Fourth Amendment
context” (Pet. at 13), and that Stone v. Powell should be extended
to preclude litigation of the Sixth Amendment violations at issue
in this case (Pet. at 13-16). This argument is without merit,
for two independently sufficient reasons: (A) the rationale of
Stone v. Powell plainly does not apply to Sixth Amendment vio-
lations, especially those committed in bad faith; and (B) even
if Stone v. Powell were applied to the instant case, it would not
bar federal-court review of Williams’ federai constitutional
claims on their merits.
A. The Rationale of Stone v. Powell Does Not
App.ay to This Case.
In Stone v. Powell, supra, this Court held that a state
prisoner who had been afforded a full and fair opportunity to liti-
gate Fourth Amendment exclusionary-rule claims in the state courts
Since the conclusion that the State did net demorscrate that
the body would have been discovered in the absence of the
violation of Williams‘ constitutional rights is contrary to
that reached by the Iowa Supreme Court, some brief attention
to 28 U.S.C. §2254(d) is appropriate. Normally, state court
factual findings are entitled to a presumption of correctness
in a federal habeas corpus proceeding. 28 U.S.C. §2254(d);
Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539 (1981). However, this presumption
of correctness does not apply when “the material facts were not
adequately developed at the state court hearing” or when-the
petitioner “did not receive a full, fair and adequate hearing
in the state court proceeding . .. .* 28 U.S.C. §$2254(d) (3),
(6); Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293 (1963). Given the ad-
ditional evidence presented in the District Court, both of
these exceptions apply. Most importantly, Exhibit 1 and Rux-
low's new testimony made it clear that the Iowa Supreme Court
had relied on false and highly misleading testimony in finding
that the body was visible. Moreover, the state courts were
not presented with District Court Exhibits 7-9, 11, 12, or
16 -- all of which indicated that the victim's body would not
have been found,
could not relitigate those claims in a federal habeas corpus
proceeding. This holding was carefully limited to its Fourth
Amendment context, and was based on the fact that the primary
justification for applying a judiciaily-created exclusionary
rule to Fourth Amendment violations is the general deterrence of
future violations of the Fourth Amendment by law enforcement
officers. 28 U.S. at 479, 4186. The Stone opinion specifically
noted the very limited role of the “imperative of judicial in-
tegrity” in Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule cases, 428 U.S.
at 484-85, and made it c)»ar that in the context of the Fourth
Amendment, the exclusionary rule “is not a personal constitutional
right” that is calculated to redress injury to any particular
defendant in relation to the criminal judicial process. Rather,
“the rule is a judicially created remedy designed to safeguard
Fourth Amendment rights senerally through its deterrent ef-
fect... .” 414 U.S. 338, 348 (1974).
Given the primarily deterrent purpose of the Fourth Amendment
exclusionary rule, permitting relitigation of Fourth Amendment
claims in a federal habeas corpus proceeding after a full and
fair opportunity to litigate those claims in state court is not
justifies because the incremental deterrent effect of doing so, if
any, is small. 428 U.S. at 493. As this Court's opinion in
Stone v. Powell itself indicated, however, denials of Fifth and
S xth Amendment rights are different in kind from Fourth Amend-
ment violations in that they directly impugn the integrity of the
judicial process. 428 U.S. at 479. One serious difficulty with
Se
this case is that it relies on assertions that the “alleged [sic]
constitutional violation occurred at the time of arrest and prior
to indictment and the commencement of trial."* (Illinois Amicus
Brief at 4, 9). These assertions may be technically accurate; but
they ignore the fact that this Court already has held that the
Sixth Amendment violations inp this case occurred after the com-
mencement of judicial proceedings, 430 U.S. at 398-399 (as Sixth
Amendment violations must, see Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682
(1972)). Once judicial proceedings have commenced, even at the
pretrial stages, the Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of
counsel of course “is ifdispensable to the fair administration
of our adversary system of criminal justice.” 430 U.S. at 398.
Thus, unlike the Pourth Amendment, the Sixth Amendment does
protect “personal constitutional rights,” and Sixth Amendment
violations directly affect the judicial process in a manner that
makes inappropriate the extension of Stone v. Powell to such vio-
lations. >? This is especially so with regard to bad faith Sixth
Amendment violations, which strike with particular force at the
inteqrity of the judicial process.
This conc)usion is supported by the post-Stone decisions of
this Court and of the Federal circuit courts. In Rose v, Mitchel
443 U.S. 549 (1979), this Court declined to extend Stone beyond
the Fourth Amendment to a claim by state prisoners that their
convictions should be overturned because of discrimination in the
selection of grand jury foremen -- even though this claim did not
implicate the integrity of the fact-finding process by which they
had been found guilty. Reaffirming the "limited reach of Stone,”
443 U.S. at 560, this Court noted that Rose involved a claimed
violation of personal rights, and that the “judicial integrity"
concerns and constitutional interests were more compelling than
in Stone because the claimed violations struck at “core concerns
of the Fourteenth Amendment and at fundamental values of our so-
ciety and our legal system." 443 U.f. at 563, 564. As noted
previously, the instant case similarly involves violations of
i3 Since the Fifth Amendment explicitly prohibits the use of com-
pelled testimony in criminal proceedings, violations of the
Fifth Amendment also directly implicate the integrity of the
lL,
judicial process. In this connection, it should be noted that
the District Court in the first habeas corpus proceeding held
that Williams’ Fifth Amendment rights were violated, in two
respects. 375 F. Supp. at 179-184. This holding has never
been reversed.
_——
personal rights that strike at fundamental values of the adversary
cystem,.
Consistently with Rose, every federal circuit court faced
with the issue has declined to extend Stone v. Powell to Fifth and
Sixth Amendment claims. See, e.g., White v. Finkbeiner, 687 F.2d
865 (7th Cir. 1982); Hinman vy. McCarthy, 676 F.2d 343, 348-49
Warden, 624 F.2d 69, 70 (9th Cir. 1980); Harryman v. Estelle,
616 F.2d 870, 872 (Sth Cir. 1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 860
(1981); Morgan v. Hall, 569 F.2d 1161, 1168-69 (lst Cir.), cert.
denied, 437 U.S. 910 (1978).
A few final words regarding the applicability of Stone v.
Powell to the Sixth Amendment violation in this case are necessi-
tated by the assertion by the amici that Williams’ guilt “was not
in question” (Illinois Amicus Brief at 9). Quite apart from the
fact that nothing in Stone would suggest that the apparent guilt
of a defendant by itself would preclude federal habeas corpus
review of bad faith Sixth Amendment violations, the suggestion of
the amici that Williams’ guilt was not questioned simply is not
factually correct. Although Williams' guilt may have appeared
Clear on the record from the first trial, see 430 U.S. at 428,
437, 441, the Court of Appeals specifically noted that at the
second trial, Williams' defense -- that someone else killed the
victim and placed her body in his room -- was supported by sub-
stantial physical and scientific evidence indicating, inter alia,
that the perpetrator, unlike Williams, was sterile. 700 F.2d at
s
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District Court demonstrated that the Iowa Supreme Court, in con-
eluding that the Stare had satisfied its hynothetical inevitable
discovery test, relied on evidence that was seriously misleading.
Since the failure to present this additional evidence to the state
courts was excusable, the Iowa Supreme Court's misapprehension of
the facts rendered its consideration of the suppression issue less
than "full and fair." Consequently, whether Stone v. Powell
should be extended beyond its Fourteenth Amendment context is a
moot issue in the instant case, and this Court therefore should
not consider it.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the petition for a writ of
certiorari should be denied.
RORERT BARTELS 2s
College of Law
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona 85287
(602) 965-7053
Counsel for kespondent
.
Certificate of Service
The undersigned hereby certifies that he received the
petition for a writ of certiorari in this case on April 12,
1983, and that on the 2% aay of May, 1923, he deposited one
copy of the foregoing document in a United States Post Office,
with first-class postage prepaid, and addressed to counsel for
the petitioner:
Mr. Brent R. Appel
Deputy Attorney General
Hoover Office Building
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
The undersigned further certifies that all parties required. to
be served have been sexved.
ROBERT BAPTELS
Sen
RECEIVED
NO. 2>-fel MAY 1 6 1963
siaitiemeancetaatiiaiamiaieiss OFriCe OF ime Coca
sUPrEME COURT, YS
. . . = veneer nasmud
ME © RT C THE NITET TATES
ctober Term, 1982
— . .
Nik, waracen f the lowa
a t > “e lary,
Petitioner,
VS.
- . ‘ se ‘auc
ANTHON ". LAMS ,
4 ” tenet.
- >
: ——- AG
~ PE N Wri )F
i : TATES
. , , ens rem
a J in s+
— a Ae er
M N ‘ eS ee oe
N FORMA PAUPERIS
. _ +% .
The res} jent, bert Anthony Williams, wno 18
- ; Aie« ao T
mn ¢ ne.~aG if s wa H t ee tiatzt at rort Madison, ,Owa,
hereby asks leave to proceed in this action in forma pauperis
spondent was permitted to proceed in forma
superis with appointed counsel in tne District Court and the
JOOBA(G) (6).
@
vu
f
~
ROBERT BARTELS
Sollege of Law
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona 85287
(602) 965-7053
Counsel for Pespondent
Certificate of
Service
petition for a writ of certiorari
1983, and that on the [7% day of
copy of the foregoing document in
with first-class postage prepaid,
the petitioner:
Mr. Brent R. Appel
Deputy Attorney General
Hoover Office Building
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
The undersigned further certifies
oe served have been served.
The undersigned hereby certifies that he received the.
in this case on April 12,
May, 1983, he deposited one
a United States Post Office,
and addressed to counsel for
that all parties required to
is J
ROBERT BARTELS
Saal
i i¢ AS *, .)
eee Pi ~ 5 iA?
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.