Parker v. Fields Jr.

Background

Lawrence Parker, who was incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility, filed a pro se petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his June 19, 2019 conviction in New York Supreme Court, Bronx County. He sought release from custody. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee.

Parker had originally been convicted by a jury of second-degree robbery and sentenced to 20 years to life. The New York Court of Appeals later reversed that conviction and ordered a new trial. Parker stated that he accepted a plea offer, after which the trial court sentenced him on June 19, 2019, to 3½ to 7 years’ incarceration.

The petition raised claims concerning ineffective assistance of counsel during plea negotiations, counsel’s handling of earlier state motions, a speedy-trial motion, alleged duress, the legality of the plea agreement, and counsel’s failure to object when the trial court read dismissed counts into the record. The opinion says the petition raised “four grounds,” but the subsequent list contains six claims.

Exhaustion requirement

A state prisoner generally must exhaust available state remedies before seeking federal review under § 2254. Exhaustion means giving the state courts the first opportunity to review the factual and legal bases of the federal claims through the state’s established appellate process.

Parker stated that he had filed a notice of appeal on July 11, 2019, and that the appeal was still pending. The court therefore concluded that he had not fully exhausted his state remedies and that the federal petition was prematurely filed. The court did not decide whether Parker’s underlying claims were legally valid.

Ruling

The court dismissed the petition without prejudice as prematurely filed. This disposition allowed Parker to file a new federal petition after fully exhausting his state remedies. The court stated that any new petition must be filed within the applicable one-year period following a decision by the New York Court of Appeals. The court also explained that claims raised in state collateral motions must be fully pursued through the required state appeals.

Judge Colleen McMahon declined to issue a certificate of appealability because Parker had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without fees for purposes of an appeal.