WILBERN WOODROW COOPER v. WILLIS CHAPMAN, WARDEN - Articles

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WILBERN WOODROW COOPER v. WILLIS CHAPMAN, WARDEN

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Aug 17, 2020

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Amy C. Lishinski, WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: John S. Pallas, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellee.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Amy C. Lishinski, WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: John S. Pallas, Kathryn M. Dalzell, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Wilbern Woodrow Cooper, Lapeer, Michigan, pro se.

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

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit

JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. Wilbern Woodrow Cooper petitioned for habeas corpus on the ground that his first-degree felony murder conviction in Michigan state court violated Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). He contends that a custodial confession he gave in 2010 to the 1978 murder of David McKillop should have been excluded from evidence. We hold that the district court properly denied habeas relief because the Michigan trial court’s admission of the confession was not an error that rose to the level of actual prejudice. We therefore AFFIRM the district court’s denial of Cooper’s habeas petition.

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