Habeas Corpus — right to counsel

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Habeas Corpus — right to counsel

It was not unreasonable for state courts to find that a suspect never invoked his right to counsel.

“The state appellate court acknowledged evidence that Coleman called (but did not reach) his attorney around 7:00 a.m. on December 12 when he realized the police were searching for him; this would have occurred hours prior to his arrest and so could not implicate his right to counsel. The state court also noted that Coleman’s attorney called the police station during his interrogation. The law is clear, and Coleman does not dispute, that an attorney cannot invoke his client’s right to counsel under Miranda. See Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 412, 424-28 (1986). At best, this all amounts to evidence that Coleman wished to reach his attorney. The trial court simply found Graziano’s and Nazarian’s testimony more credible than Coleman’s, and believed that it outweighed any countervailing evidence. The appellate court agreed, and we have no clear and convincing evidence before us to suggest that this determination of facts is unreasonable.”

Affirmed.

10-1437 Coleman v. Hardy

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Pallmeyer, J., Bauer, J.