Vincent L. Fields v. Doug Waddington

The district court dismissed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus for failure to exhaust state court remedies in Washington. The main question before us is whether, in Washington, briefing a state constitutional claim alerts the state court that it is called on to decide an independent and parallel federal constitutional claim, even in the absence of a Washington ease holding expressly that the two claims are substantively identical. We answer that question “no” and, therefore, affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

. On November 8, 1994, Scott Holm was murdered. Two days later, Petitioner Vincent Fields charged more than $2,000 on Holm’s credit cards. Petitioner was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree theft, and drug-related crimes. A jury found him guilty on all counts. The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the theft and drug convictions but reversed his second-degree murder conviction due to an erroneous jury instruction. At a second trial, a jury, again found Petitioner guilty of second-degree murder.

Petitioner, acting’pro se, filed a Personal Restraint Petition (“PRP”) in state court challenging the constitutionality of his sec ond trial on several…