Tenth Orders Evidentiary Hearing for 2254 Petitioner

Green v. Addison, 2012 WL 5077178 (10/19/12) (Okl.) (unpub’d) - A rare 10th grant of an evidentiary hearing in a § 2254 case. The petitioner acted diligently in state court to get an evidentiary hearing. He asked for a hearing and submitted a transcript of an interview of an alleged victim, J.C., who said the prosecutor threatened to pursue juvenile charges against her if she did not testify against the petitioner the way the prosecutor wanted. J.C. admitted she had lied at trial about the defendant raping her and that another alleged victim claimed rape because the petitioner would not go out with her and the prosecutor threatened her as well. The state court’s decision was not entitled to any deference because it used the wrong standard. The petitioner alleged the state knowingly presented perjured testimony, while the state court reviewed the claim as though the defendant asserted he had found new evidence proving his innocence. Because of all this, the petitioner’s claim is reviewed under pre-AEDPA de novo standards. The alleged victim’s testimony and affidavits of prosecutors do not necessarily contravene the alleged victim’s later allegations. The state court’s conclusion that: “J.C. did not recant her original claims” was clearly wrong. The petitioner’s allegations were sufficient to justify relief, if true. J.C.’s interview called into question the petitioner’s convictions and sentence. Even if he had consensual sex with J.C., which is still first-degree rape, the testimony that he forced her to have sex would have affected the sentence the jury imposed.