Aaron Lord v. John Lambert

Aaron Lord appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Lord contends he is entitled to habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 because during his trial the state court erred in admitting the testimony of Todd Rogers. Lord argues that Rogers’ testimony should have been excluded because it derived from the interception of a cordless telephone conversation in violation of Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (“Title III”), 18 U.S.C. § 2510 et seq.

We conclude that even if Rogers’ trial testimony was the product of a Title III violation and should have been excluded, Lord’s habeas claim fails because the admission of that testimony did not deprive Lord of due process or result in a miscarriage of justice. Accordingly, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Relevant Facts

On March 10, 1997, Robert Colebank, a private citizen in Maryland, intercepted a private cordless telephone conversation between his neighbor, Todd Rogers, and petitioner Aaron Lord, a Washington resident. Unbeknownst to Rogers and Lord, Colebank listened to their conversation. From what they said, Colebank believed they planned for Rogers to fly to Seattle and assist…