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July 7, 2006
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
RO NA LD G . PIERCE,
Petitioner-A ppellant,
v.
RICK A. SO ARES, Ordway
C orrectional Facility, and JO H N
W . SU THERS, the Attorney
General of the State of Colorado, *
No. 05-1458
(D. Colorado)
(D.C. No. 02-CV -1487-EW N-OES)
Respondents-Appellees.
OR DER
2000, the trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing on the original Rule 35(c)
motion and denied it on the merits. In 2001, the Colorado Court of Appeals
affirmed the trial court, and on April 29, 2002, the C olorado Supreme Court
denied M r. Pierces petition for a writ of certiorari.
On August 12, 2002, M r. Pierce filed a timely petition under 28 U.S.C.
2254, alleging five errors related to his plea bargain:
1. violations of his Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights when the
trial judge, prosecuting attorney and defense counsel failed to properly investigate
his mental state of mind before he entered the plea bargain,
2. denial of the right to effective assistance of counsel when counsel failed
to (a) investigate the case, (b) secure expert testimony, (c) request evaluation of
his mental state, and (d) when trial counsel functioned as a third arm for the
prosecution,
3. denial of his constitutional rights when the trial court failed to determine
that his guilty pleas were knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently made,
4. violation of his right to due process when the prosecution (a) failed to
follow the provisions of the plea agreement, (b) failed to inquire into his mental
functioning, and (c) when the prosecution coerced him into pleading guilty, and
5. denial of constitutional rights when the trial court denied him (a) counsel
in his postconviction hearings, and (b) the right to testify due to the refusal to
appoint advisory counsel.
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The state argued that M r. Pierce did not exhaust his final claim. The
magistrate judge recommended dismissal of each of the above claims, and
recommended the denial of habeas relief. He found the fifth claim meritless and
dismissed it w ithout reference to exhaustion. See Moore v. Schoeman, 288 F.3d
1231, 1232 (10th Cir. 2002).
The district court adopted the magistrate judges report and
recommendation, and denied M r. Pierces application for a certificate of
appealability. M r. Pierce can only prevail on those claims in this federal habeas
proceeding if he can demonstrate that the state courts ruling, rejecting each of his
claims, was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly
established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United
States, or was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of
the evidence presented in the state court proceeding. 28 U.S.C. 2254(d)(1),
(2). For substantially the same reasons provided in the magistrate judges
thorough and well-reasoned report and recommendation, we reject M r. Pierces
arguments.
II. DISCUSSION
[U]ntil a COA has been issued, federal courts of appeals lack jurisdiction
to rule on the merits of appeals for habeas petitioners. M iller-El v. Cockrell, 537
U.S. 322, 336 (2003). A COA can issue only if the applicant has made a
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[M r. Pierce] would have insisted on going to trial. Rec. vol. I, doc. 27, at 14
(R ecommendation for D ismissal, filed July 2, 2003).
Third, the trial court did inquire as to whether M r. Pierces plea bargain
was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary, as evidenced in the plea colloquy. As to
M r. Pierces fourth contention, alleging prosecutorial misconduct, the plea
agreement does not specify that the government was obliged to approach M r.
Pierce with respect to the prosecution of other involved parties. Similarly, the
record does not support M r. Pierces allegations regarding coercion and failure to
inquire into his mental state. Finally, we agree that there is no constitutional
requirement for the appointment of counsel in postconviction collateral
proceedings. See Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 555 (1987). As such, M r.
Pierce has failed to raise a constitutional question.
W e have carefully reviewed M r. Pierces brief, the magistrate judges
report and recommendation, district courts disposition, and the record on appeal.
Nothing in the record on appeal or M r. Pierces filings raises an issue which
meets our standards for the grant of a CO A. For substantially the same reasons as
set forth by the district court and magistrate judge, we cannot say that M r. Pierce
has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. 28
U.S.C. 2253(c)(2).
III. CONCLUSION
W e D EN Y Mr. Pierces request for a certificate of appealability, GRAN T
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