Calvin Jackson v. Robert Legrand

Opinion by Judge REINHARDT; Dissent by Judge GOODWIN.

OPINION

In January 1999, Calvin Jackson was charged with six counts related to the sexual assault of his on-again, off-again girlfriend of ten years, Annette Heathmon. He was found guilty of forcing his way into her apartment, threatening her with a screwdriver, and forcing her to perform oral sex and have vaginal sexual intercourse. Jackson denied that an assault occurred and claimed that he and Heathmon had consensual sex. At trial, the court prevented Jackson from presenting testimony from police witnesses to support his defense that Heathmon made false claims against him in the past alleging physical or sexual assault, and that this was another instance of her false accusations. It also prevented Jackson from cross-examining Heathmon about prior acts of prostitution. Jackson was convicted, and contends that the trial court’s rulings denied him his constitutional right to present a complete defense and to confront the complaining witness under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. We agree as to his claim that his right to present a defense was unconstitutionally abridged, and hold that the state court’s conclusion to the…

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent. The appellant did not present in his appeal to this court a competency-of-counsel question, and I believe that his failure timely to request a Miller hearing to support his effort to impeach the complaining witness was a default by the defense. Rejection of the proffered evidence, therefore, was not a constitutional error by the state trial court. The United States District Court for the District of Nevada complied with the requirements of AEDPA. I would affirm the judgment.

BACKGROUND

Calvin Jackson and Annette Heathmon were involved in a turbulent, on-again, off-again relationship for about ten years. In 1998, Heathmon broke up with Jackson and moved into an apartment complex. Although Jackson visited Heathmon at the complex in an apartment she shared with a friend, when she moved out of that apartment and into her own unit she did not inform Jackson where she had moved.

On October 21, 1998, the same night that Annette Heath- mon moved into her new apartment, a mutual friend named 8662 JACKSON v. STATE OF NEVADA Willie Williams knocked on Heathmon’s door accompanied by Jackson, who was not initially visible to Heathmon. According to Heathmon, Jackson forced his way into her apartment, threatened to stab her with a screwdriver if she did not agree to have sex with him, raped her and beat her. While Jackson was in her apartment, Heathmon testified, he cut the clothes hanging in her closet with a knife that she kept with her on her bed, ripped the phone from the wall, and stole a ring from her dresser and some food from the freezer. Jackson left the apartment dragging Heathmon with him, demanding that she walk with him to his car. As…