Steve Lee Lewis v. Harold J. Cardwell, Superintendent, Arizona State Prison

The appellant, Steve Lee Lewis, a state prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his Arizona state court convictions under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . We affirm.

Proceedings Below

In 1971, the appellant was convicted after a jury trial in Pima County, Arizona, on two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He did not appeal his convictions to the Arizona state courts, apparently relying on his counsel’s advice that he might be sentenced to death if convicted upon retrial.

Subsequently, the appellant filed a petition for postconviction relief in Arizona state court, alleging numerous constitutional violations. The petition was ultimately denied by the Arizona Supreme Court. Thereafter, the appellant, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 , unsuccessfully petitioned the district court for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging those same constitutional violations.

In this appeal, appellant argues that the district court erred in not finding that his constitutional rights were violated because: (1) the prosecution made repeated references to his alleged post-arrest silence, in violation of Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610 , 96…