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Confrontation Clause, Evidentiary Claims Rejected in 2254 Case

By Shari Allison

Dalton v. Dinwiddie, No. 07-6126 (10th Cir. April 8, 2008) (unpublished): The Tenth denied the certificate of appealability and dismissed the appeal of the petitioner, who is serving life in Oklahoma, in this 2254 case. Mr. Dalton was convicted of murder and sentenced to life following the shooting of a young man in a robbery of the home where the man and his parents lived. Three men were involved in the shooting, and both codefendants identified Dalton as the shooter. The Tenth finds that there was no Confrontation Clause violation based on the trial court's exclusion of the victim's father's prior convictions, that were more than ten years old, and the father's alleged "bootlegging" activities. The evidence was properly excluded because the ancient (37 year old) priors were minimally relevant to the father's credibility...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on April 10, 2008 (boomark / email).