Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 07-9362 SECTION "K" (6).
March 26, 2010
ORDER AND OPINION
Petitioner Noel Austin, a state court prisoner, filed a pro se petition for federal habeas corpus relief seeking to vacate his state court convictions and the sentence imposed on those convictions. Petitioner seeks to vacate his convictions on the following grounds: 1) his convictions violated the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy; 2) counsel rendered ineffective assistance; 3) the trial court failed to make an inquiry regarding and/or declare a mistrial as a result of mid-trial prejudicial publicity, denying him a fair trial; and 4) the trial court erred in denying his motion to reveal the identity of the confidential informant.
A jury found the petitioner guilty as to two counts of attempted first degree murder of a police officer (La.R.S. 14:27 and 14:30), one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine (La.R.S. 40:967(A), and guilty of the responsive verdict of aggravated battery. The state district court sentenced petitioner as follows: 50 years at hard labor as to the two counts of attempted first degree murder of a police officer; 10 years at hard labor as to the count of aggravated battery; and 30 years at hard labor as to the count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Subsequently, the state district court found petitioner guilty of being a triple felony offender, vacated the petitioner's original sentence, and re-sentenced him to life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
The Court referred the case to Magistrate Judge Louis Moore, Jr. who prepared a "Report and Recommendation" (Doc. 11) in which he recommended that Austin's petition for relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 be dismissed with prejudice. Petitioner timely filed a "Traverse in Opposition to Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation" (Doc. 12).
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), the Court has conducted a de novo review of those portions of the Report and Recommendation objected to by petitioner. Upon review of the petition, the entire state record, and the applicable law, the Court concludes that the conclusions of the Magistrate Judge are fully supported by the record and the controlling case law and that petitioner's objections do not raise any legal issues that require any further consideration. Accordingly, the Court hereby overrules petitioner's objections, approves the Report and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge, and adopts the Report and Recommendation as the opinion in this matter.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Noel Austin's petition for habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.