Amos Dwayne Stevenson v. Gail Lewis, Warden

Habeas petitioner Amos Dwayne Stevenson claims that he was tried in Orange County for a crime he committed in Los Angeles County in violation of the vicinage clause of the Sixth Amendment. The United States Supreme Court has yet to decide whether the vicinage clause applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Consequently, the California Court of Appeal’s decision that petitioner was properly tried in Orange County is not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court. Accordingly, we affirm on this ground the district court’s denial of Stevenson’s habeas petition.

Facts and Procedural History

Stevenson was prosecuted for robbery, rape, kidnaping, and false imprisonment, in connection with four separate incidents. Three of these incidents took place entirely within Orange County, California, and the venue for the trial of these crimes is not disputed. The question in this ease concerns the proper venue for the prosecution of the fourth incident, which occurred on November 20, 1992. On that date, Stevenson confronted Deborah W. with a gun outside her apartment in Long Beach, in Los Angeles County.…