Writ of Habeas Corpus – Double Jeopardy

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Criminal

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: RIPPLE, MANION, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges

Writ of Habeas Corpus – Double Jeopardy

No. 14-2876 Humberto Sanchez-Rengifo v. J.R. Caraway

Failure to obtain certificate of appealability from district court rendered appellants appeal of habeas corpus denial a petition for a certificate of appealability. Appellant fails to show substantial denial of a constitutional right.

“When law enforcement have not arranged for the suggestive circumstances resulting in the identification, due process usually is satisfied by the “safeguards built into our adversary system that caution juries against placing undue weight on eyewitness testimony of questionable reliability.” Perry v. New Hampshire, 132 S. Ct. 716, 728 (2012). There is no evidence in the record that these safeguards were not adequate here; indeed, the transcript pages suggest that the victim was cross-examined regarding her identification at multiple points during the trial. See id. (identifying the “right to confront the eyewitness” as one of the safeguards of the adversary system)”

“Because the legislature defined the unit of punishment as each act of child sexual abuse, Mr. Sanchez-Rengifo did not suffer multiple punishments for the same crime, and, consequently, his sentences did not run afoul of the Double Jeopardy Clause. Put simply, he raises no substantial constitutional question that can serve as a predicate for a certificate of appealability, and we can take no further action in this matter.”

Appeal Dismissed

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