Alvin Love v. Norman Butler, 952 F.2d 10, 1st Cir. (1991)

952 F.
2d 10
Alvin LOVE, Petitioner, Appellant,

v.
Norman BUTLER, Respondent, Appellee.
No. 91-1230.
United States Court of Appeals,

First Circuit.
Submitted July 15, 1991.
Decided Dec. 19, 1991.
Alvin Love on brief pro se.

Scott Harshbarger, Atty. Gen., and Robert N. Sikellis, Asst. Atty. Gen., on
brief for respondent, appellee.
Before TORRUELLA, SELYA and CYR, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
I.
This is an appeal from the dismissal of a habeas corpus petition. In 1986,

petitioner Alvin Love was convicted by a Massachusetts Superior Court jury of
violating that state's "bail-jumping" statute. Mass.Gen.L. ch. 276, 82A.1 He
was sentenced to a year's imprisonment, to take effect from and after the
sentence then being served. In November 1988, the Massachusetts Appeals
Court affirmed his conviction, and the Supreme Judicial Court denied leave for
further appellate review the following month. Petitioner filed the instant
petition in April 1989, alleging, inter alia, that the bail-jumping provision was
unconstitutionally vague, and that his trial counsel had provided ineffective
assistance. The district court, adopting the recommendation of a magistratejudge, summarily dismissed the petition under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing
Section 2254 Cases--which requires dismissal "[i]f it plainly appears from the
face of the petition and any exhibits attached thereto that the petitioner is not
entitled to relief...." We agree that such a disposition is warranted, and therefore
affirm.
The following description of the factual and procedural background, none of

which is in dispute, is drawn largely from the Appeals Court's decision.
Commonwealth v. Love, 26 Mass.App.Ct. 541, 530 N.E.2d 176 (1988).
Through the testimony of Robert McDade, an assistant clerk of the Superior
Court, the Commonwealth established the following. Petitioner was indicted in
1985 on a charge of breaking and entering. On June 10, 1985, he was released
from detention upon depositing $500 as surety and executing a standard
recognizance form, which required him to appear at places and times that might
be specified. The recognizance stated: "A defendant who fails without
sufficient excuse to appear in court after release on bail or recognizance may be
punished [stating the penalty]." Trial commenced on December 2, 1985, with
petitioner in attendance. At the close of that day's proceedings, petitioner was
informed that trial would continue the next day at 10:00 A.M. Petitioner failed
to appear at that time. Neither defense counsel nor the prosecutor knew of his
whereabouts. Petitioner was called to the bar, without response. A default
issued and bail was ordered forfeited. Trial resumed the following day, with
petitioner still absent, and a conviction followed.
The Commonwealth's second witness was Lieutenant Donald Whalen of the

Wellesley police. He testified that, on January 30, 1986 (some two months after
petitioner's disappearance), he interviewed petitioner at the Wellesley police
station where the latter was being detained following a new arrest. The
Commonwealth sought to inquire as to what petitioner had said during this
interview, but the court (following an extensive voir dire of Lieutenant Whalen)
ruled petitioner's statement inadmissible. The Commonwealth then rested. No
motion for a required finding of not guilty, see Mass.R.Crim.P. 25(a), was filed
by defense counsel.
Petitioner then took the stand to explain the reason for his disappearance. He
stated that he had believed the trial was unfair to him, for two reasons: his
attorney had declined to offer a defense of "diminished capacity," and there
were witnesses whom the defense had not reached in time for trial. He further
explained that, under pressure of this belief, he had decided to quit the trial in
mid-stream and attempt to raise money to acquire better legal representation.
He first travelled to Florida, then returned and lived at various addresses until
his arrest on January 30, 1986. Following petitioner's testimony, the defense
rested, again without moving for a required finding of not guilty.
The trial judge instructed the jury that the Commonwealth had the burden to
prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, the following: (1) that petitioner was
released by court order on bail, (2) that it was a condition of his release that he
appear at places and times as specified, (3) that he failed to appear at a place
and time specified, and (4) that his failure to appear was without sufficient
excuse. As to this last element, the judge offered no categorical definition;
rather, he provided illustrative examples on either side of the line of "sufficient
excuse."2 The judge read a standard definition of duress, and left it to the jury
to decide whether petitioner's explanation, if believed, would be regarded by a
reasonably prudent person as a sufficient excuse for failure to appear.
6
Following the jury's verdict, petitioner (with new counsel) moved for
postconviction relief. He there advanced the claims which are at the center of
the instant petition (and which are described more fully below):
unconstitutional vagueness and ineffective assistance of counsel. Although the
first claim, not having been raised at trial, would ordinarily have been deemed
waived, the trial court decided in its discretion to address it on the merits. The
court denied both claims, and the Appeals Court upheld both the verdict and the
denial of the motion for postconviction relief.
II.
7
We shall address in turn each of the several claims contained in the instant
petition. Petitioner's first two claims are interrelated. He argues that the bailjumping statute is unconstitutionally vague on its face, in that it fails to define
the term "sufficient excuse." And he contends that trial counsel provided
ineffective assistance by failing to advance this claim by way of a pretrial
motion to dismiss. These claims are presented in a curious posture. Petitioner
does not allege that the statute is unconstitutionally vague as applied to him; he
effectively concedes that it is not, and instead insists only that it is facially
vague. And he does not dispute that the trial court and Appeals Court both
addressed the vagueness issue on the merits. Instead, he complains that, due to
counsel's ineffectiveness, each court conducted only an "as applied" analysis.
Had counsel moved for dismissal prior to trial, the vagueness analysis
necessarily would have been restricted to a facial inquiry--which, in petitioner's
view, would have been resolved in his favor.
This line of reasoning falters on several grounds. First, a close reading of the
trial court's post-trial memorandum indicates that it did, in fact, consider the
constitutionality of the statute on its face. Rather than relying on petitioner's
conduct, it upheld the statute on the basis of its language, the jury instructions,
and caselaw defining the analogous circumstances in which a surety can be
excused from liability for a defendant's default. The Appeals Court, in turn,
addressed petitioner's facial challenge. Given these factors, any ineffectiveness
arising from trial counsel's failure to advance such a challenge was obviously
without prejudice. See, e.g., Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104
S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) (to make out claim of ineffective
assistance, defendant must show, inter alia, "that the deficient performance
prejudiced the defense").
9
More important, both of these arguments fail because, as the Appeals Court
properly observed, a facial challenge was inappropriate under the
circumstances. It is well-established that "[v]agueness challenges to statutes not
threatening First Amendment interests are examined in light of the facts of the
case at hand; the statute is judged on an as-applied basis." Maynard v.
Cartwright, 486 U.S. 356, 361, 108 S.Ct. 1853, 1857-58, 100 L.Ed.2d 372
(1988); accord, e.g., United States v. Powell, 423 U.S. 87, 92, 96 S.Ct. 316,
319-20, 46 L.Ed.2d 228 (1975); United States v. Mazurie, 419 U.S. 544, 550,
95 S.Ct. 710, 714, 42 L.Ed.2d 706 (1975); United States v. Angiulo, 897 F.2d
1169, 1179 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 130, 112 L.Ed.2d 98
(1990); United States v. Barnes, 890 F.2d 545, 552 (1st Cir.1989), cert. denied,
494 U.S. 1019, 110 S.Ct. 1326, 108 L.Ed.2d 501 (1990). Petitioner suggests
that, even when First Amendment rights are not implicated, facial challenges
are also appropriate where an enactment is alleged to be "impermissibly vague
in all of its applications," Village of Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman
Estates, Inc., 455 U.S. 489, 495, 102 S.Ct. 1186, 1191-92, 71 L.Ed.2d 362
(1982), in the sense that "no standard of conduct is specified at all," Coates v.
City of Cincinnati, 402 U.S. 611, 614, 91 S.Ct. 1686, 1688, 29 L.Ed.2d 214
(1971). Yet it is clear that such an allegation must first be considered in light of
the facts of the case--i.e., on an as-applied basis. "A plaintiff who engages in
some conduct that is clearly proscribed cannot complain of the vagueness of
the law as applied to the conduct of others. A court should therefore examine
the complainant's conduct before analyzing other hypothetical applications of
the law." Flipside, 455 U.S. at 495, 102 S.Ct. at 1191-92 (footnote omitted);
accord Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733, 756, 94 S.Ct. 2547, 2561-62, 41 L.Ed.2d
439 (1974) ("One to whose conduct a statute clearly applies may not
successfully challenge it for vagueness."); United States v. Doremus, 888 F.2d
630, 634 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, Y--- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 751, 112 L.Ed.2d
772 (1991). Indeed, the Court in Flipside rejected a similar contention by
noting: "Flipside's facial challenge fails because ... the ordinance is sufficiently
clear as applied to Flipside." 455 U.S. at 500, 102 S.Ct. at 1194.
10
Petitioner's argument fails here for the same reason. The Appeals Court, after a
careful analysis, held that the statute was not unconstitutionally vague as
applied to petitioner. As petitioner has not challenged this ruling in the instant
proceedings, we need not engage in any extended discussion thereof. It suffices
to note the following. "[T]he void-for-vagueness doctrine requires that a penal
statute define the criminal offense with sufficient definiteness that ordinary
people can understand what conduct is prohibited and in a manner that does not
encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement." Kolender v. Lawson, 461
U.S. 352, 357, 103 S.Ct. 1855, 1858, 75 L.Ed.2d 903 (1983). The Appeals
Court here stated:
11
As the judge instructed, the expression "without sufficient excuse" conveys the
meaning of deliberate conduct contrary to that which was required--this in
distinction from conduct which the actor did not will, or was unable to control.
Thus the statute resembles, if, indeed, it is not equivalent to, a common kind of
bail-jumping statute that speaks of "willful" failure to appear as required.
12
26 Mass.App.Ct. at 545, 530 N.E.2d 176 (footnote omitted). The court

observed that the requirement of scienter implicit in the statute had the
tendency to clarify its scope. Id. at 546 n. 11, 530 N.E.2d 176; see, e.g.,
Flipside, 455 U.S. at 499, 102 S.Ct. at 1193 ("a scienter requirement may
mitigate a law's vagueness, especially with respect to the adequacy of notice to
the complainant that his conduct is proscribed"). And the court held that
petitioner's proffered excuse--fear of an unfair trial--constituted a plainly
inadequate justification for jumping bail. 26 Mass.App.Ct. at 549, 530 N.E.2d
176. Under these circumstances, we think it clear that one who decamps in the
middle of a trial without notifying his counsel, who flees to another part of the
country, and who resurfaces only when arrested for a new offense, "is a person
who should know that [the statute's] language applies to him." United States v.
Buckalew, 859 F.2d 1052, 1054 (1st Cir.1988); see also United States v.
Cintolo, 818 F.2d 980, 997 (1st Cir.) ("On the record before us, there is no
doubt that appellant in fact knew--or was chargeable with knowledge--that his
conduct fell within the statute's proscriptions."), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 913, 108
S.Ct. 259, 98 L.Ed.2d 216 (1987).
III.
13
Petitioner's remaining claims can be more summarily addressed. He contends

that his trial attorney was ineffective in failing to move for a required finding of
not guilty at the close of the Commonwealth's case. Such a motion would have
been successful, he insists, because the Commonwealth had offered no
evidence that his failure to appear was without sufficient excuse--a necessary
element of the offense. This assertion is highly doubtful,3 and is in any event
beside the point. The Appeals Court, analogizing the sufficient-excuse element
to the justifications of duress and necessity, held that petitioner had "the burden
of producing some evidence of a 'sufficient excuse' before the Commonwealth
would become obligated to shoulder the burden of negating that excuse by
proof beyond a reasonable doubt." 26 Mass.App.Ct. at 548, 530 N.E.2d 176.
Accordingly, "the Commonwealth was not required to establish in its case-inchief that the defendant acted without sufficient excuse." Id. The court
explicitly refrained from considering the constitutionality of such a shift in the
burden of persuasion, id. at 548 n. 17, 530 N.E.2d 176, and petitioner has not
advanced any such challenge here. As any motion for a required finding of not
guilty would thus have been unavailing, counsel was not ineffective in failing to
file same.
14
Petitioner next challenges several aspects of the Appeals Court's decision.

Although it is not clear that these claims have been exhausted, we need not
address the matter inasmuch as each is patently without merit. See, e.g.,
Granberry v. Greer, 481 U.S. 129, 135 n. 7, 107 S.Ct. 1671, 1675 n. 7, 95
L.Ed.2d 119 (1987) ("it is appropriate for the court of appeals to dispose of
nonmeritorious petitions without reaching the nonexhaustion issue");
Palmariello v. Superintendent of MCI Norfolk, 873 F.2d 491, 493 n. 1 (1st Cir.)
(same), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 865, 110 S.Ct. 185, 107 L.Ed.2d 140 (1989).
Only one of these claims, in fact, is worthy of discussion: that the court
improperly relied on excluded testimony in the course of its opinion.4 While he
has not identified any specific testimony in this regard, we infer that he is
complaining of the Appeals Court's having mentioned (1) that he adopted an
assumed name while in Florida, and (2) that his arrest on January 30, 1986 was
for a fresh breaking and entering committed that day. (The Commonwealth's
state appellate brief indicates that these facts were provided by Lieutenant
Whalen during his voir dire testimony; they apparently were never revealed to
the jury.) The suggestion that the Appeals Court "relied on" these facts in
reaching its decision is frivolous. The court mentioned them only once, during
its factual description. And each reference appeared, not in the body of the
decision, but in a footnote. See id. 26 Mass.App.Ct. at 542 n. 2, 543 n. 4, 530
N.E.2d 176. This plainly indicates that the court was aware which facts were
before the jury.
15
Finally, petitioner argues that the district court erred in summarily disposing of
his petition under Rule 4, without examining the trial transcript or requiring the
Commonwealth to file an answer. Yet as the foregoing discussion makes clear,
each of petitioner's arguments was readily susceptible to resolution without
resort to the transcript. For this reason, the instant case differs from Moran v.
Vose, 816 F.2d 35 (1st Cir.1987) (per curiam), on which petitioner relies.
Moreover, unlike in Moran, dismissal here was not ordered "solely on the basis
of the petition," id. at 36; accompanying the petition were the briefs of both
parties to the Appeals Court, that court's decision, petitioner's application to the
SJC for further appellate review, and the grand jury minutes. On a related
matter, it is admittedly "somewhat anomalous," id., at least on the surface, that
a court would summarily dismiss a petition under Rule 4 and then proceed to
grant a certificate of probable cause. Compare Dory v. Commissioner of
Correction, 865 F.2d 44, 46 (2d Cir.1989) (per curiam) ("intrinsically
contradictory") with Johnson v. Gramley, 929 F.2d 350, 351 (7th Cir.1991)
("The judge might think a suit frivolous, yet not be sure we would agree. After
all, it is not unknown for an appellate court to disagree with a trial court's
determination of frivolousness...."). Yet contrary to petitioner's suggestion,
whatever inconsistency may exist in this regard provides no basis for reversal.
See, e.g., Mahoney v. Vondergritt, 938 F.2d 1490, 1494 n. 7 (1st Cir.1991)
(while summary dismissal followed by grant of CPC was "somewhat
inconsistent," the "decision to invoke Rule 4 was not erroneous").
16
Affirmed.
This statute provides: "A person who is released by court order or other lawful
authority on bail or recognizance on condition that he will appear personally at
a specified time and place and who fails without sufficient excuse to so appear
shall be punished...."
Cited as examples of a sufficient excuse were serious illness, accident, and

confinement as by kidnapping. Cited as excuses that would not be "sufficient"
were simple refusal to face responsibility, intent to escape punishment for
wrongdoing, and intent to frustrate justice
As mentioned, the Commonwealth established that petitioner had absconded in

the middle of trial without word to anyone and had only resurfaced following
his arrest in Wellesley. This evidence, together with all reasonable inferences
drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, would seem
adequate to avoid a required finding of not guilty
Petitioner's other contentions in this regard are that the court erred in analyzing
his vagueness challenge on an as-applied basis, and that it failed to address the
second of his ineffective assistance claims. Our earlier discussion disposes of
the former claim; the latter is simply mistaken

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952 F.

Alvin LOVE, Petitioner, Appellant,

United States Court of Appeals,

Alvin Love on brief pro se.

This is an appeal from the dismissal of a habeas corpus petition. In 1986,

The following description of the factual and procedural background, none of

The Commonwealth's second witness was Lieutenant Donald Whalen of the

26 Mass.App.Ct. at 545, 530 N.E.2d 176 (footnote omitted). The court

Petitioner's remaining claims can be more summarily addressed. He contends

Petitioner next challenges several aspects of the Appeals Court's decision.

Cited as examples of a sufficient excuse were serious illness, accident, and

As mentioned, the Commonwealth established that petitioner had absconded in

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