F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
AUG 29 2003
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
CLARENCE R. BRAMLETT,
Petitioner-Appellant,
v. No. 02-6267
(D.C. No. CIV-97-1579-R)
RANDY G. WORKMAN, Warden, (W.D. Okla.)
Respondent-Appellee.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before HARTZ , BALDOCK , and McCONNELL , Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Petitioner Clarence R. Bramlett appeals from the district court’s order
entered following a remand by this court, see Bramlett v. Champion, 28 Fed.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Appx. 868 (10th Cir. Nov. 30, 2001), directing that the district court hold an
evidentiary hearing in this matter filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. We affirm.
In 1990 Mr. Bramlett was convicted of first-degree murder following a jury
trial and was sentenced to life without parole. He filed an appeal to the
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, which was denied. Mr. Bramlett filed a
state application for post-conviction relief raising claims different from those
raised on direct appeal. The state courts denied relief. Mr. Bramlett then filed
this petition raising the same seven issues he raised in his state application for
post-conviction relief. The district court denied relief, but granted him a
certificate of appealability on two issues: (1) whether the prosecution withheld
exculpatory evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland , 373 U.S. 83 (1963) , and
(2) whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present
exculpatory evidence.
This court affirmed the district court’s decision on the ineffective
assistance of counsel claim, but remanded the case for an evidentiary hearing on
Mr. Bramlett’s Brady claim. Mr. Bramlett alleged that the state violated the
constraints of Brady because it suppressed evidence that four witnesses had
informed the police prior to trial that Mr. Bramlett was not the shooter, and that,
regardless of these statements, the police and/or the prosecution coerced the
witnesses into identifying Mr. Bramlett as the shooter at trial.
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At the hearing the court heard testimony from two of the witnesses, the
prosecutor, the lead detective in the case, Mr. Bramlett, and a school teacher who
knew the individual alternatively identified as the shooter. The district court
considered the record before it and the testimony given at the hearing. The court
determined that Mr. Bramlett and his witnesses were not credible due to
contradictions in the testimony at the hearing, the fact that one of the recanting
witnesses did not testify at Mr. Bramlett’s trial, and the objective evidence.
On appeal Mr. Bramlett argues that the district court erred in assessing the
impact of the testimony presented at the evidentiary hearing. But we defer to the
district court’s credibility determinations. See Romano v. Gibson , 239 F.3d 1156,
1175 (10th Cir.), cert. denied , 534 U.S. 1045, 1046 (2001) .
We have reviewed the appendix submitted to this court, including the
transcript of the evidentiary hearing. The district court’s credibility
determinations are supported by the record, as are the conclusions drawn by the
court. Therefore, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court for substantially
the reasons stated in its order of July 22, 2002.
Entered for the Court
Harris L Hartz
Circuit Judge
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