§ 2255, which was denied by the district court. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. According to Lundy, the lead composition of the .38 caliber bullet recovered from the Chaconia shooting matched the lead composition of eighteen of the .38 caliber bullets found at Higgs's apartment. The first shooting was on November 20, 1995, at the Chaconia Nightclub in Washington, D.C. Wondwossen Kabtamu testified that Higgs got into an argument outside the club, and that Higgs shot out the windows of a vehicle in a drive-by shooting while Kabtamu drove Higgs's Mazda MPV van. At some point during the early morning hours of January 27, Higgs and Jackson began to argue. 1. 413, 415 (5th Cir.2010) (denying request to file successive application for habeas relief from capital conviction based upon CBLA criticism because, even assuming that the petitioner could not have discovered the flaws in the CBLA evidence through the exercise of reasonable diligence, he failed to “show [ ] that but for the flawed bullet analysis, no reasonable factfinder would have found him guilty of capital murder”). Finally, the government presented two categories of forensic evidence to corroborate the eyewitness testimony and crime scene evidence from the murder scene and the two prior shootings. Die Liste ist gegliedert nach Wettbewerben, die aktuell zum Wettkampfprogramm gehören und … Higgs contends that this study should also have been disclosed to him because it called into question the premise that lead melts are unique and homogeneous in their elemental compositions. At the apartment, Jackson rebuffed an advance by Higgs and the women left. At approximately 4:30 a.m., on January 27, 1996, Tanji Jackson, Tamika Black, and Mishann Chinn were found dead in a roadway in the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge in Prince George's County, Maryland. After a paternity test identified Bourgeois as the father of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl and a court ordered that he pay child support to the mother, Bourgeois took temporary custody of his daughter and brought her with him on a trucking route. All rights reserved. 4. We evaluate the obligations of the government and the conduct of defense counsel at the time of trial and have no difficulty concluding that there is no reasonable probability that the trial court would have excluded the CBLA evidence in October of 2000. This study was performed at the request of the FBI, with the goal of “develop[ing] a means for assessing bullet evidence, especially to be able to quantify the significance of matching bullet lead.” J.A. However, “[t]he NRC expressed concerns ․ relating to the interpretation of the results of bullet lead examinations.” J.A. Because the women died on the Patuxent Research Refuge, which is owned by the US government, the men were prosecuted under federal rather than state law. Under the Due Process Clause, the prosecution is required to disclose evidence favorable to an accused upon request, “where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution.” Brady, 373 U.S. at 87. We cannot say that the post-trial defense counsel team was constitutionally ineffective simply because they did not pursue a new trial motion on the basis of the CBLA developments, particularly in view of the cross-examination that was conducted and the minor role that the evidence played during the trial, or that Higgs was prejudiced as a result. In addition, Haynes advised the authorities that he threw the gun in the river. And, as discussed above, there is no reasonable probability that the post-trial studies or a new trial would have resulted in a different verdict. She also testified that bullets within the same box of ammunition may be found to have different elemental compositions. Martinsville Elementary - Miss Scott Video. Police recovered 9mm bullet casings from the front of the house, where the eyewitnesses placed Haynes, and a .38 caliber bullet from inside the house. Higgs I, 353 F.3d at 311–12 (emphasis added). There is no Brady violation if the evidence is available to the defense from other sources or the defense already possesses the evidence. Jackson's day planner, containing Higgs's name, telephone number, address and vehicle license tag number, corroborated Gloria's testimony regarding Higgs's words and actions in the wake of his violent argument with Jackson and the threat she made as she was leaving his apartment. In the alternative, Higgs contends that his trial counsel were constitutionally ineffective for failing to independently discover the studies, or present comparable impeachment material that was reasonably available in the public domain through an expert. Higgs asked Williams what his chances of defeating the murder charges “would be ‘if the witness after the fact wasn't there.’ “ Id. He contends that his post-trial counsel were also ineffective because they failed to file a motion for a new trial on the basis of newly discovered studies on CBLA evidence. Higgs is scheduled to be executed on Jan. 15, 2021. She testified that Remington, the bullet manufacturer in this case, would have manufactured approximately five million bullets in 1995, and that there would be many, many other bullets with the same elemental composition as those matched in this case. In addition, the lead composition of the .38 caliber bullet recovered from the Cherry Lane crime scene matched the lead composition of the .38 caliber bullet recovered from the murder scene. Their clothed bodies were found on Route 197 near Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in the early hours of Jan. 27, 1996. Eventually, Higgs pulled over at a secluded location. Official websites use .gov Higgs' victims were 19-year-old Tamika Black, 21-year-old Tanji Jackson and 23-year-old Mishann Chinn. Brief of Appellant at 45; see Fed.R.Evid. Within moments, Gloria heard a gunshot and wiped the mist off the back window in time to see Haynes shoot one of the women in the chest. The first document at issue in this case derives from a presentation at an FBI conference in 1991 (the “FBI Report”), reporting that CBLA matches had been found in bullets taken from boxes manufactured seven months apart and fifteen months apart. See United States v. Higgs, 353 F.3d 281 (4th Cir.2003) (“Higgs I ”). § 2 (“Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission,” or who “willfully causes an act to be done which if directly performed by him or another would be an offense against the United States, is punishable as a principal.”). In particular, Higgs challenged the government's evidence that he had been in prior possession of a .38 caliber weapon and that he handed the .38 caliber murder weapon to Haynes that night to carry out the murders.1. During the plea proceedings, the prosecutor stated that Haynes had fired the 9mm handgun and that Higgs had fired the .38 caliber handgun. Copyright © 2021, Thomson Reuters. As we previously summarized, there was overwhelming evidence confirming that: it was Higgs who set up the “dates” with the girls, Higgs who got into the violent argument with Jackson, Higgs who observed Jackson writing down his license plate number, Higgs who retrieved the .38 caliber murder weapon (which he owned) and told the other two men to come along, Higgs who told Haynes to “trick” the women into getting into the van, Higgs who drove the van past the route back to their homes and into the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge, Higgs who handed the murder weapon to Haynes moments before Haynes shot and killed the women, and Higgs who orchestrated the destruction of the physical evidence at his apartment after the murders. At the time of the killings, Higgs was in a nearby car. As we have twice concluded, the evidence of Higgs's guilt and of his predominant role in the brutal kidnappings and murders of the three women was overwhelming, as was the evidence, irrespective of the CBLA evidence, that linked Higgs to the .38 caliber weapon and to .38 caliber ammunition. “The question is whether an attorney's representation amounted to incompetence under ‘prevailing professional norms,’ not whether it deviated from best practices or most common custom.” Harrington v. Richter, 131 S.Ct. Because this is classed as federal land, he was tried by the federal governm… Id. While on the trip, Bourgeois systematically abused and tortured her — including by punching her in the face, whipping her with an electrical cord, and burning the bottom of her foot with a cigarette lighter. While backing his truck up to a loading dock, his daughter tipped over her training potty. He also told Darby that Jackson had been invited over to his apartment that night because she had been “ ‘snitching on one of them,’ “ and that “ ‘the other two girls ․ were just for his friends.’ “ Id. In July 2019, his execution was scheduled for Jan. 13, 2020, but legal impediments prevented the government from proceeding at that time. During the sentencing phase, portions of Haynes's statements to the authorities were admitted, further corroborating Gloria's account of the events that occurred that evening. All crimes were committed in Maryland. One of the girls asked if they were trying to “make [them] walk from [t]here,” and Higgs responded, “something like that.” After the women got out of the van, Higgs pulled out the pistol and handed it to Haynes, who put it behind his back and also exited the van. In April 1997, Higgs pled guilty to his involvement in the Cherry Lane shooting. When Higgs told Williams that he had refused to cooperate against Haynes in the murder investigation, Williams told Higgs that the authorities would likely offer Haynes the same deal. CBLA evidence, when introduced at trial, generally consisted of two components: (1) the scientific test used to measure the elemental composition of the lead in bullets; and (2) the conclusions drawn by the examiner based upon the similarities or differences in the elemental compositions of the compared bullets. In the fall of 1998, Victor Gloria was arrested on federal drug charges. In the ensuing years, the FBI and the scientific community collaborated their efforts to quantify the significance of bullet lead matches from CBLA. Haynes confirmed that Higgs was driving the van that night. However, there was no match between the Cherry Lane bullet and the bullets associated with Higgs's apartment, and Higgs and Haynes were both involved in the Cherry Lane shooting and in the murders. Dustin John Higgs (March 10, 1972 – January 16, 2021) was an American man who was executed by the United States federal government, having been convicted and sentenced to death in 2000 for his role in the January 1996 murders of three women in Maryland. Higgs, however, drove past the Baltimore—Washington Parkway exit, which would have taken them directly into Washington, D.C., and instead drove the van into the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge, a federal property within the jurisdiction of the United States Park Police. From the late 1960s until at least 2004, CBLA was performed by the FBI to compare bullets found at or associated with a crime scene to bullets associated with a defendant, usually in cases where a fired bullet could not be matched to a particular firearm because the firearm was not recovered or the fired bullets were too mutilated for comparison of physical markings. 491. However, the CBLA evidence did not match the bullets from Higgs's apartment or the Chaconia shooting to the murder bullet; it only linked the Cherry Lane bullet to the murder bullet. 522. Due to impurities in the source material and the changes that are made to it, the elemental composition of lead melts varies. Rodney Simms testified that Haynes came to his home and began arguing with him. Williams also produced letters that Higgs had written to him, which stated “that Higgs had not heard from ‘T’, but that ‘Mel has been in my corner.’ “ Id. Bourgeois became enraged and repeatedly slammed the back of her head into the truck’s window and dashboard, killing her. With regard to the Chaconia and Cherry Lane shootings, the eyewitness testimony and forensic evidence, irrespective of the CBLA, easily place a .38 caliber weapon in Higgs's possession in the two months prior to the murders. There is no disputing the horror of the January 1996 murders of Tanji Jackson, Tamika Black and Mishann Chinn. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Dustin John HIGGS, Defendant–Appellant. Such decisions by experienced, capital defense counsel fall squarely within the class of those to which we give deference. (alteration in original). Mai 1946 in Istanbul) ist eine türkische Politikerin. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal, and his requests for collateral relief were ultimately rejected by federal courts. First, Higgs asserts that the CBLA evidence permitted the government “to put the .38 caliber handgun in Higgs's possession” prior to the murders by “showing that a bullet recovered from the Chaconia incident matched the chemical composition of the bullets recovered from Cherry Lane and the capital killings.” Brief of Appellant at 45. Attorney General William P. Barr today directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to schedule the executions of three federal-death row inmates sentenced to death for staggeringly brutal murders, including the murder of a child and, with respect to two inmates, the murder of multiple victims. App'x. Gloria admitted to authorities that he was with Higgs and Willis Mark Haynes on the night of the murders and agreed to cooperate with the authorities in the murder prosecutions. In July 2002, Bourgeois arrived at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station for a delivery. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court's order denying Higgs's motion under 28 U.S.C. Dustin John Higgs kidnapped and murdered three women — Tamika Black, 19; Tanji Jackson, 21; and Mishann Chinn, 23. Between 1989 and July 1992, Johnson and several co-conspirators, including federal death-row inmates Richard Tipton and James Roane, were partners in a large drug-trafficking conspiracy based in Richmond, Virginia. Presently before us is Higgs's motion for relief under 28 U.S.C. 491 (internal quotation marks omitted). According to Gloria, either Higgs or Haynes then commented that they had to “get rid of the gun,” and Higgs drove to the Anacostia River where, according to Gloria, either Higgs or Haynes got out and threw the gun into the water. The government also presented CBLA evidence through the testimony of Kathleen Lundy, an examiner with the Elemental Analysis Group of the FBI laboratory. On March 21, 1996, Park Police Officers interviewed Higgs at his apartment. After his trial was concluded, Higgs requested and was granted a substitution of counsel for one of his two defense attorneys for the purpose of pursuing an appeal and other post-conviction relief. Higgs's incriminating statements made in connection with the two prior shootings are particularly significant. at 502. “Although the NRC stated that the FBI Laboratory did not need to suspend bullet lead examinations while undertaking [its] review [of the recommendations], the FBI elected to do so while the review was pending.” J.A. See, e.g., United States v. Davis, 103 F.3d 660, 673–74 (8th Cir.1996); Haynes v. United States, 451 F.Supp.2d 713, 720 (D.Md.2006); State v. Noel, 723 A.2d 602, 605–06 (N.J.1999).3 However, it seems equally clear, as Higgs has acknowledged, that the criticisms of CBLA were already present in the public domain at the time of Higgs's trial, even if the FBI Study and the Iowa State Study might not have been. Secondary lead smelters melt and mix the lead with smaller lead sources and other chemicals in large vats, and these smelters then harden the lead into a solid form suitable for sale to bullet manufacturers. As noted above, Gloria testified that either Higgs or Haynes disposed of the murder weapon in a nearby river while en route back to Higgs's apartment. Higgs contends that defense counsels' failure to also challenge the CBLA evidence in a motion for a new trial amounted to constitutionally deficient performance, and that he was prejudiced as a result. Higgs also failed to demonstrate that his trial counsels' handling of the CBLA issue rose to the level of constitutionally deficient performance under Strickland. The three men got into Higgs's van, with Higgs driving, Haynes in the front passenger seat, and Gloria sitting behind Higgs. Higgs I, 353 F.3d at 293 (internal quotation marks omitted). Alle BRAVO Titelbilder 1996. Having reviewed the challenged evidence in the context of the entire case, we conclude there is no reasonable probability that the district court would have excluded the CBLA testimony at Higgs's trial had it been challenged, or that the outcome of the guilt or sentencing phase would have been different had the CBLA evidence been excluded or subjected to additional cross-examination. Berry, 624 F.3d at 1043 (concluding that even “the [NRC] report and the FBI's discontinued use of [CBLA] evidence were no more than impeaching evidence of the [CBLA] testimony introduced at [defendant's] trial”). Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Tanju Acilan is on Facebook. Compare Ragland v. Common wealth, 191 S.W.3d 569, 582 (Ky.2006); (overturning murder conviction where CBLA was the only conclusive evidence linking defendant to the murder bullet), Clemons v. State, 896 A.2d 1059, 1078 (Md.2006) (reversing the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to exclude CBLA evidence because “a genuine controversy exists within the relevant scientific community about the reliability and validity of CBLA” and “[t]he only consensus that can be derived from [the scientific studies] is that more studies must be conducted”), and New Jersey v. Behn, 868 A .2d 329, 345 (N.J.Super.Ct.App.Div.2005) (granting new trial where the proof was “far from overwhelming” and the CBLA evidence was not cumulative or merely impeaching), with United States v. Berry, 624 F.3d 1031, 1041 (9th Cir.2010) (rejecting § 2255 claim based upon CBLA evidence because “while ․ the studies may caution against widespread usage of [CBLA] evidence,” they did not “establish that [CBLA] evidence is so fundamentally unreliable that its introduction at [defendant's] trial violated his due process rights”), and In re Berkley, 375 Fed. Finally, we have carefully considered the materiality of the CBLA evidence that was introduced, and the question of whether there is a reasonable probability that the result of the proceedings would have been different had the government produced the studies at issue or had trial counsel handled the CBLA issue in different way. Higgs’ convictions and sentences were affirmed on appeal nearly 17 years ago, and his initial round of collateral challenges failed nearly eight years ago. at 292 (internal quotation marks omitted). “lands and grooves” refer to the rifling marks that are “pressed onto a bullet when it travels down a barrel of a firearm. In early 1992, Johnson went on a killing spree, shooting and killing each of the seven victims for perceived slights or rivalry in the drug trade. The government presented overwhelming evidence of Higgs's guilt, as well as of his predominant role in the murders. App'x. Chief Judge TRAXLER wrote the opinion, in which Judge SHEDD and Judge KEENAN joined. After firing a few more shots, Haynes got into the van and closed the door. See Clemons v. Maryland, 896 A.2d 1059, 1076–78 (Md.2006) (discussing the various studies released in 2002 that questioned the value of CBLA evidence and recommended further study of the issue). The manufacturers, in turn, process the lead into bullets. During the early morning hours of January 27, 1996, Tanji Jackson, Tamika Black, and Mishann Chinn were found murdered in the Patuxent National … 491. at 687. The district court rejected the Brady claim, holding that the government was not required to disclose the studies because: (1) the studies' strongest critiques of CBLA were available in at least one published study which was publicly available at the time of Higgs' trial, strongly suggesting that, through the exercise of reasonable diligence, Higgs could have obtained identical or nearly identical information; (2) the studies' remaining critiques do not consist of strong, definitive conclusions, but at most suggest areas for possible additional study; (3) by his own admission, Higgs could have called live witnesses capable of offering conclusions nearly identical to those offered in the Government's studies; and (4) other evidence presented at trial provided a firm link between Higgs and the bullets found at the murder scene. A sister of Tanji Jackson — one of the murdered women who was 21 when she died — addressed a written statement to Higgs after his execution and mentioning his family. See United States v. Chavis, 880 F.2d 788, 793 (4th Cir.1989). Please try again. For his part, Higgs admitted to the authorities that he knew Tanji Jackson and claimed that he commented to a guest at his girlfriend's house the following evening that he knew “that Tanji girl,” even though the names of the victims had not yet been released to the press. In the wake of the scientific community's more recent reports about CBLA evidence, courts have, in appropriate cases, granted new trials or reversed convictions that hinged upon it. Tamika Black, … 491. Chinn had been shot once in the back of her head. They were traveling in Higgs's blue Mazda MPV van. Sie war von 1993 bis 1996 die erste und bislang einzige Frau im Amt des Ministerpräsidenten der Türkei. Williams told Higgs “that ‘his chances would be good.’ “ Id. At that point, “Higgs said f––– that, and grabbed his coat and said come on.” He also retrieved a silver .38 caliber firearm from the end table drawer and put it in his pocket. We are satisfied that there is not.4. The primary source of bullet lead is recycled car batteries. To obtain relief in this proceeding, Higgs must demonstrate that counsel's failure to file the motion constituted deficient performance and that he was prejudiced as a result. In the absence of the CBLA evidence, Higgs claims, “there would have been no unimpeached evidence linking Higgs's bullets taken from the crime scene to Higgs's apartment.” Id. As the government correctly observes, CBLA evidence was widely admitted into evidence in various courts in this country at the time of Higgs's trial and up until at least 2003, when the NRC began its review of the issue and ultimately recommended further study. Higgs's final claim is that his defense counsel were ineffective because they failed to file a motion for a new trial under Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure within three years of the verdict, based upon the CBLA studies that were published thereafter. Haynes was convicted of the murders several months before Higgs's trial, but the jury did not recommend the death penalty for Haynes. And, as defense counsel pointed out to the jury, there was substantial evidence that Haynes had equal if not more access to Higgs's apartment. On September 1, 2005, the FBI announced that it would no longer perform CBLA because “neither scientists nor bullet manufacturers [had been] able to definitively attest to the significance of an association made between bullets in the course of a bullet lead examination.” J.A. The post-trial studies published in 2002 and 2003 were largely cumulative of the criticisms known at the time of trial and were at best merely impeachment evidence.