DAVID WAYNE ALLEN v. BETTY MITCHELL, WARDEN - Articles

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DAVID WAYNE ALLEN v. BETTY MITCHELL, WARDEN

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Mar 24, 2020

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: John J. Ricotta, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Brenda S. Leikala, OFFICE OF THE OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellee.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: John J. Ricotta, Cleveland, Ohio, Henry J. Hilow, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Charles L. Wille, OFFICE OF THE OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellee.

Judge(s): SILER, MOORE, and BUSH, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland

JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. David Wayne Allen was convicted of aggravated robbery and aggravated murder in 1991. He was sentenced to death. Allen’s present appeal seeks review of the district court’s denial of a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Allen argues that the trial court in the Ohio state proceedings violated his rights under the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments by failing to excuse a juror who demonstrated she could not be fair and unbiased. Because our review of a denial of habeas corpus under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, imparts a great level of deference to state court factual determinations, and because the determination of whether to seat a juror is an exercise of discretion by the trial court, we AFFIRM the district court’s denial of Allen’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

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