RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
Pursuant to Sixth Circuit Rule 206
File Name: 11a0035p.06
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
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Petitioner-Appellant, -
RALPH STEVENS BAZE, JR.,
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No. 10-5584
v.
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Respondent-Appellee. -
PHILIP PARKER,
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Ashland.
No. 01-00031—Amul R. Thapar, District Judge.
Decided and Filed: February 4, 2011
Before: BOGGS, COLE, and COOK, Circuit Judges.
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COUNSEL
ON BRIEF: David M. Barron, KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
ADVOCACY, Frankfort, Kentucky, Dennis J. Burke, KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC ADVOCACY, LaGrange, Kentucky, for Appellant. William Robert Long, Jr.,
OFFICE OF THE KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Frankfort, Kentucky, for
Appellee.
BOGGS, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which COOK, J., joined.
COLE, J. (pp. 12–13), delivered a separate opinion concurring in the judgment.
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OPINION
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BOGGS, Circuit Judge. Ralph Stevens Baze, Jr., a Kentucky inmate on death
row, wishes to interview prison personnel to support his application for clemency. After
the Kentucky Department of Corrections (“KDOC”) denied Baze’s request for unfettered
access to these personnel, Baze sought relief in district court with a motion to order
1
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 2
KDOC to allow him to conduct his desired interviews. The district court denied Baze’s
motion for a want of jurisdiction, and we affirm.
I
In February 1994, a Kentucky jury sentenced Baze to death for the 1992 murders
of Sheriff Steven Bennett and Deputy Sheriff Arthur Briscoe. Direct review concluded
in 1998, and this court upheld the denial of Baze’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus
in 2004. Baze v. Parker, 371 F.3d 310, 315 (6th Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 544 U.S. 931
(2005).
After exhausting habeas proceedings, Baze began work on a clemency
application.1 Appellant’s Br., at 2. Baze believes that certain individuals at the prison
where he is confined possess information that could strengthen his bid for clemency.
Accordingly, on January 20, 2009, he requested permission for his attorneys to speak
with prison guards, the death row unit administrator, and other death row inmates. Id.
at 3. Two days later, the Commissioner of KDOC denied Baze’s request.
On February 10, 2009, Baze filed a complaint in state court. Baze sought a
declaratory judgment, claiming that KDOC’s denial violated his constitutional rights.
The court denied his claim, and the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed on January 21,
2010. Baze v. Thompson, 302 S.W.3d 57, 58, 60 (Ky. 2010).
On February 24, 2010, Baze filed a motion in district court, in which he
requested an order that KDOC allow him to conduct his desired interviews without
interference. Baze argued that the order was authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 3599(f) and, in
the alternative, the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651.
On May 6, 2010, the district court denied Baze’s motion. The district court held
that it lacked jurisdiction to issue the requested order because “[s]ection 3599(f) merely
allows the Court to authorize the expenditure of funds . . . [and] does not give the Court
1
Baze is currently at work on his second clemency application. Baze first sought clemency in
2007. Appellant’s Br., at 5 n.2.
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 3
the authority to issue an order granting a defendant access to certain state officials or
others in the hopes that they will provide information relevant to the clemency process.”
The court further held that the All Writs Act is not a source of jurisdiction to issue the
order because “the Court has no independent jurisdiction over the state clemency process
beyond the appointment of counsel under Section 3599(e) . . . [and] because Section
3599 is not an independent source of jurisdiction, Baze’s requested relief is not available
under the All-Writs Act.”
Baze filed this timely appeal, and this court has jurisdiction to review the final
decision of the district court. 28 U.S.C. § 1291; see Harbison v. Bell, 129 S. Ct. 1481,
1485 (2009) (“An order that merely denies a motion to enlarge the authority of appointed
counsel . . . is not [an order that disposes of the merits of a habeas proceeding] and is
therefore not subject to the [certificate of appealability] requirement.”).
II
The sole issue presented for review is whether Congress has empowered district
courts to grant a request like Baze’s and to order state officials not to interfere with the
gathering of information in support of clemency.2 This court reviews such questions of
subject-matter jurisdiction and statutory interpretation de novo. Mikulski v. Centerior
Energy Corp., 501 F.3d 555, 560 (6th Cir. 2007) (en banc) (“When a decision on
subject-matter jurisdiction concerns pure questions of law . . . , this court conducts a de
novo review.”) (citation and italics omitted); United States v. Parrett, 530 F.3d 422, 429
(6th Cir. 2008) (“We review questions of statutory interpretation de novo.”).
In determining the scope of a district court’s jurisdiction, our starting point is that
the lower federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and possess only those powers
granted to them by Congress. Finley v. United States, 490 U.S. 545, 550 (1989) (quoting
Aldinger v. Howard, 427 U.S. 1, 15 (1976) (noting that “federal courts . . . are courts of
limited jurisdiction marked out by Congress”)). With that principle in mind, federal
2
Appellee argues that, because Baze was not using federally-funded counsel, he can not avail
himself of any provision of the statute that provides for such counsel. Appellee’s Br., at 8–13. The district
court did not decide this issue and we decline to do so here.
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 4
courts must be reluctant to infer that Congress has expanded their jurisdiction. Welch
v. Texas Dept. of Highways and Pub. Transp., 483 U.S. 468, 474 (1987) (citing Am. Fire
& Casualty Co. v. Finn, 341 U.S. 6, 17 (1951) (“The jurisdiction of the federal courts
is carefully guarded against expansion by judicial interpretation.”)).
A federal court’s reluctance to infer jurisdiction is enhanced where an expansion
of jurisdiction would implicate federalism concerns. United States v. Bass, 404 U.S.
336, 349 (1971) (“[U]nless Congress conveys its purpose clearly, it will not be deemed
to have significantly changed the federal-state balance.”); see Solid Waste Agency of
Northern Cook Cnty. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, 531 U.S. 159, 174 (2001)
(interpreting a statute to “avoid constitutional and federalism questions” where there was
no “clear statement from Congress” to the contrary). Federalism concerns are
particularly strong in criminal matters, and, absent a clear directive from Congress or the
Constitution, a federal court should be loath to assume jurisdiction to interfere with state
criminal proceedings, including postconviction proceedings. See State Farm Mut. Auto.
Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408, 422 (2003) (“A basic principal of federalism is that
each State may make its own reasoned judgment about what conduct is permitted or
proscribed within its borders, and each State alone can determine what measure of
punishment . . . to impose . . . .”); Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 43-44 (1971) (noting
a “longstanding public policy against federal court interference” with state criminal
proceedings); Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 726 (1991) (“This is a case about
federalism. It concerns the respect that federal courts owe the States and the States’
procedural rules when reviewing the claims of state prisoners in federal habeas
corpus.”).
III
Here, Baze requests that the district court order state prison officials to provide
him with information that he can use in a state clemency proceeding. Baze argues there
are two independent sources for this authority: 18 U.S.C. § 3599 and, alternatively, the
All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651. We consider each of these potential sources of
jurisdiction in turn.
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 5
A
“Section 3599, titled ‘Counsel for financially unable defendants,’ provides for
the appointment of counsel for . . . federal capital defendants . . . [and] state and federal
postconviction litigants.” Harbison, 129 S. Ct. at 1485–86; see 18 U.S.C. § 3599. The
Supreme Court recently held that such “state and federal postconviction litigants”
include inmates involved in state clemency proceedings. Harbison, 129 S. Ct. at 1491.
There is no question, then, that subject to any statutory requirements, the district court
is authorized to appoint counsel to assist Baze in preparing his state clemency
application, and that any such counsel is entitled to compensation pursuant to section
3599.
Baze, however, argues that section 3599 provides him with much more than that.
Baze points to section 3599(f), which provides, in part:
Upon a finding that investigative, expert, or other services are reasonably
necessary for the representation of the defendant, whether in connection
with issues relating to guilt or the sentence, the court may authorize the
defendant’s attorneys to obtain such services on behalf of the defendant
and, if so authorized, shall order the payment of fees and expenses
therefor . . . .
Baze argues that, because this provision empowers a federal court to “authorize the
defendant’s attorneys to obtain” investigative services, then it must also empower the
court to order third-party compliance with the attorneys’ investigations. Baze effectively
interprets the statute to empower federal courts, not only to fund an attorney’s efforts to
obtain investigative services that the court finds to be reasonably necessary, but also to
manage and enforce the collection of evidence in state clemency proceedings.3 Such a
broad oversight power is in tension with the longstanding principle that “we do not sit
as super appeals courts over state commutation proceedings.” Workman v. Bell, 245
F.3d 849, 852 (6th Cir. 2001) (citing Ohio Adult Parole Auth. v. Woodard, 523 U.S. 272,
3
Section 3599 applies to other proceedings as well, such as federal capital trials and federal
habeas proceedings. Harbison, 129 S. Ct. at 1485–86. Although federal courts in such cases may have
oversight powers similar to those Baze seeks here, those powers are exercised pursuant to other sources
of authority, not section 3599. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2) (conditions for conducting an evidentiary
hearing in a habeas proceeding).
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 6
276 (1998) (plurality opinion) (“We reaffirm . . . that pardon and commutation decisions
have not traditionally been the business of courts; as such, they are rarely, if ever,
appropriate subjects for judicial review.”) (internal citation and quotation marks
omitted)). Baze raises three arguments in favor of his interpretation, and we reject all
three.
First, Baze argues that “the plain language of § 3599(f) provides jurisdiction and
authority to prevent . . . interference” with an attorney’s efforts to obtain investigative
services. Appellant’s Br., at 13. This argument hinges on the meaning of the provision,
“the court may authorize the defendant’s attorneys to obtain such services on behalf of
the defendant.” Baze interprets this provision to give federal courts jurisdiction over the
acquisition of investigative services. Id. at 14. Thus, Baze argues, “[w]here a
government official interferes or prohibits [the acquisition of investigative services], the
plain language of § 3599(f) authorizes a federal court to issue orders necessary to order
the acquisition of those services.” Ibid.
We disagree with Baze’s textual interpretation. The relevant provision simply
empowers a court to authorize, for purposes of compensation, an attorney to acquire an
investigator’s efforts—not his total success. Therefore, it does not, as Baze argues,
enable a court to order any party that stands in the investigator’s way to stand down. To
permit someone to seek information is not the same as establishing a substantive right
for that person to acquire that information over all possible obstacles. Further, the
provision at issue does not stand alone, but is rather part of the statute as a whole. Bob
Jones Univ. v. United States, 461 U.S. 574, 586 (1983) (“[I]t is well settled that, in
interpreting a statute, the court will not look merely to a particular clause in which
general words may be used, but will take in connection with it the whole statute . . . .”)
(quoting Brown v. Duchesne, 19 How. 183, 194 (1857)). Section 3599 provides for
federally-funded counsel for certain defendants. In this context, section 3599(f) provides
for funds to cover the counsel’s costs of investigative services that the federal court
determines to be “reasonably necessary.” Consistent with this purpose, the provision
empowers the district court to guard the federal purse strings by authorizing—for
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 7
purposes of federal reimbursement—an attorney to obtain only those investigative
services that the court approves. See Fautenberry v. Mitchell, 572 F.3d 267, 268–69 (6th
Cir. 2009) (affirming a district court’s denial of inmate’s § 3599(f) request for funds to
obtain an expert opinion because the requested service was not “reasonably necessary”).
The provision provides for nothing beyond this funding power, and Baze’s interpretation
is therefore belied by the plain meaning of the statute.
Second, Baze points to Harbison as support for the proposition that “federal
courts have the authority to enter orders that ensure the appointment of meaningful
counsel and experts in state clemency proceedings.” Appellant’s Br., at 15. Harbison
does not support this proposition. Harbison holds that section 3599 provides for
federally-funded counsel to represent defendants in state clemency proceedings. 129 S.
Ct. at 1491. As the Supreme Court noted, section 3599 thereby effectuated Congress’s
intent that “no prisoner would be put to death without meaningful access to the ‘fail-
safe’ of our justice system.” Ibid. (quoting Herrera v. Collins, 506 U.S. 390, 415
(1993)). Baze appears to argue that “meaningful access” to the clemency process
necessarily includes a right to call upon federal courts to take action to supervise the
mechanics of a state clemency proceeding. Appellant’s Br., at 15. But the “meaningful
access” to the clemency process that the Supreme Court refers to in Harbison is access
to federally-funded counsel, not federal oversight of the discovery process in a state
proceeding. Ibid. And, without any clear textual underpinnings, we can not infer an
Congressional intent to interfere with state proceedings to such a remarkable extent.
Harkless v. Brunner, 545 F.3d 445, 454 n. 5 (2008) (“Because states retain their
sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment, Congress in enacting legislation affecting the
balance in our federal system between the national and state governments must by plain
statement make clear that it has duly deliberated the issue and fully intended to reach
that result.”) (quoting In re Brentwood Outpatient, Ltd., 43 F.3d 256, 264 (6th Cir.
1994)); cf. Harbison, 129 S. Ct. at 1490 n.9 (noting that states are indifferent to whether
an inmate’s clemency counsel is federally funded and that section 3599's provision of
such funds therefore raises no federalism concerns). Clearly, neither Harbison nor the
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 8
Congressional intent to which it refers can support the remarkable federal power that
Baze seeks to create here.
Third, Baze argues that his interpretation avoids the “absurd result” of allowing
courts to authorize certain investigative services, yet leaving them powerless to stop state
“interference” with the efforts of the investigator. But section 3599(f) allows an attorney
to hire an investigator; it does not ensure that the investigator will succeed. Thus, by
denying an investigator’s access to prison guards, the state no more “interferes” with the
liberty of the investigator than does a keeper of sealed records or a citizen who refuses
to speak. Section 3599, which authorizes a court to fund the investigator’s efforts, does
not allow for any judicial oversight to ensure the investigator’s success. Section 3599
allows a federal court to approve the expenditures of federal funds, not usurp oversight
of the discovery process in a state proceeding. In line with that limited power, the only
determination that the federal court may make under 3599(f) is whether the investigative
services are “reasonably necessary.” That determination—that the services are
important enough to merit compensation—has no conflict with the sort of outside
interference that Baze complains of here. Interference with the efforts of the defendant’s
investigator does not undermine the district court’s determination that the defendant’s
attorney should be compensated for his related efforts. Accordingly, there is no “absurd
result” here. Although state interference with a defendant’s efforts to obtain evidence
in support of a state clemency application could be a problem, a solution is more
appropriately fashioned in state court and, in any case, is nowhere to be found in 18
U.S.C. § 3599.4
Significantly, by its plain language, section 3599 applies only to indigent
defendants, and Baze’s interpretation therefore relies on a Congressional intent to
provide federal oversight over state clemency proceedings to only a certain class of
death row inmates. See 18 U.S.C. § 3599 (“Counsel for financially unable defendants”).
We think it implausible that Congress enacted section 3599, not to level the playing field
4
Notably, Baze previously requested an identical order in Kentucky court. Baze, 302 S.W.3d at
60.
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 9
by providing indigent death row inmates with the same access to clemency attorneys
available to paying inmates, but to tip the balance in the other direction by providing
indigent death row inmates with enforceable rights not available to other death row
inmates. Baze, apparently recognizing this problem, argues that section 3599 should be
interpreted to provide the federal oversight powers he seeks to all classes of defendants,
as otherwise, “federal courts would have absolutely no jurisdiction with regard to
clemency matters if a death row inmate was represented” by attorneys funded through
other means. Appellant’s Br., at 19–21. However, Baze’s suggested interpretation can
not be squared with the text of the statute, which limits its application to “a defendant
who is or becomes financially unable to obtain adequate representation . . . .” 18 U.S.C.
§ 3599(a)(1). Further, because we hold that section 3599 does not authorize any
defendant to secure federal oversight of a state clemency proceeding, it creates no
comparative disadvantage for attorneys funded by other means.
To support his interpretation of the statute, Baze points to the recent decision by
a magistrate judge in Nields v. Bradshaw, 2010 WL 148076, at *1 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 11,
2010). Interpreting section 3599 in the way Baze urges here, the magistrate judge
ordered a prison to transport the prisoner, Nields, to a hospital for a brain scan. Ibid.
(“[T]he Court finds it has jurisdiction, given by Congress under 18 U.S.C. § 3599, to
issue the requested order and power to do so under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C.
§ 1651.”). The magistrate judge explained his reasoning in one sentence. Ibid. (“The
power to appoint counsel for clemency proceedings and provide for expert services to
those counsel could be completely frustrated if the Court could not order reasonable
ancillary relief to make those provisions meaningful.”). Four days later, the magistrate
stayed the order pending the state’s appeal. Nields v. Bradshaw, 2010 WL 290963 (S.D.
Ohio Jan. 15, 2010) (“The question of whether this Court has jurisdiction to enter the
Order . . . is a close question of first impression. Staying the Order pending appeal will
enable the Warden to obtain a decision by an Article III judge on that question.”).
Rather than appeal the issue, however, the state entered into an agreement with Nields,
in which the state agreed to transport Nields for the brain scan and Nields agreed to
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 10
withdraw his motion. Both parties complied, and the issue was never presented to this
court. See Docket No. 1:03-cv-00019.
Because the Nields decision was not considered by a panel of the Sixth Circuit,
it does not bind this court. Neither is Nields persuasive, as it appears to presume—and
we hold to the contrary—that 3599(f) provides an attorney with a right to obtain a
particular piece of information, as opposed to funding for an investigator to seek
information. Accordingly, we hold that Nields was wrongly decided and that the district
court in this case correctly concluded that 3599(f) provides a federal court with no
jurisdiction to issue any order beyond the authorization of funds.
B
In the alternative, Baze argues that the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651,
empowers the district court to order KDOC to allow him to interview prison personnel
and inmates. The All Writs Act provides, in relevant part, that “all courts established by
Act of Congress may issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective
jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.” 28 U.S.C. § 1651.
Notably, the statute does not provide federal courts with an independent source of
jurisdiction to issue writs, but only with the authority to issue writs “in aid of their
respective jurisdictions.” Ibid.; United States v. Perry, 360 F.3d 519, 533 (6th Cir. 2004)
(“The All Writs Act enables federal courts to issue such commands ‘as may be necessary
or appropriate to effectuate and prevent the frustration of orders it has previously issued
in its exercise of jurisdiction otherwise obtained.”) (quoting United States v. N.Y. Tel.,
434 U.S. 159, 172 (1977)). Baze argues that, “because the district court was empowered
under 18 U.S.C. § 3599 to authorize counsel to obtain services, the All Writs Act
authorizes orders necessary to prevent government officials from interfering with those
services.” Appellant’s Br., at 24. Baze’s All Writs Act argument, then, is no different
than his “absurd result” argument, considered above. At bottom, Baze maintains that if
the district court lacked jurisdiction to issue the requested order, then its power to
authorize attorneys to obtain services would be frustrated. To avoid this problem, Baze
argues that section 3599 should be interpreted to allow for this enforcement power or,
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 11
in the alternative, the All Writs Act provides for the same power. Because section 3599
speaks only to funding, Baze’s All Writs Act argument meets the same fate as his
section-3599 argument.
Baze argues at length in his brief that, pursuant to Harbison, a federal court’s
jurisdiction to appoint and fund counsel does not conclude with the habeas proceedings,
but rather continues through state clemency proceedings. Id. at 28–30; Harbison, 129 S.
Ct. at 1491. But jurisdiction to appoint and fund counsel for a state clemency proceeding
is not, as Baze would have it, bundled with jurisdiction to oversee the state clemency
proceeding itself. Congress chose to provide federal courts with the power to authorize
the release of federal funds to cover the costs of “reasonably necessary” investigative
services to support an inmate’s bid for clemency. There is nothing illogical about
providing courts with that power but not providing them with the power to ensure that
the investigator so funded will, in fact, obtain the desired information. Simply put, the
power to authorize reimbursement is distinct from the power to ensure acquisition of
information against all outside obstacles. Congress, in enacting section 3599, provided
federal courts with one power but not the other, and it is not our place to upset that
choice, be it through the All Writs Act or any other means. Because the only
jurisdictional power granted to the district court by section 3599 is the power to appoint
attorneys and oversee the release of federal funds to those attorneys, the relief that Baze
seeks here is not “in aid of” the district court’s preexisting jurisdiction under section
3599 and is thus outside the scope of the All Writs Act.
IV
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the decision of the district court.
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 12
__________________________________________
CONCURRING IN THE JUDGMENT
__________________________________________
COLE, Circuit Judge, concurring in the judgment. While I concur in the majority
opinion’s result, I do not concur in the majority opinion’s reasoning because I believe
it speaks more broadly than the circumstances of this case or the statutory language at
issue allow.
Baze seeks to invoke our jurisdiction under either 18 U.S.C. § 3599(f) or the All
Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651. I agree that these two statutes do not give us jurisdiction
to grant Baze his desired relief: requiring a state prison to provide access to, and the
cooperation of, state prison officials for Baze’s clemency proceedings.
I part with the majority, however, as to their suggestion that § 3599(f) could
never be invoked for a non-pecuniary request. After all, the text of that section explicitly
separates the authorization and ordering (“the court may authorize the defendant’s
attorney to obtain such services”) from the payment (“and, if so authorized, shall order
the payment of fees and expenses therefor”), and basic principles of statutory
interpretation require us to give meaning to the full text of a statute, see, e.g., United
States v. Hill, 79 F.3d 1477, 1482-83 (6th Cir. 1996). Parsing this language, the majority
seems to interpret “authorize” to mean “permit.” But even such an
interpretation—against the backdrop of “a finding that . . . services are reasonably
necessary for the representation of the defendant,” § 3599(f)—suggests that some types
of state interference would frustrate court orders issued under that section: for example,
state action that prevents the § 3599-appointed attorney from meeting with the defendant
or otherwise consulting with the defendant about services the court found to be
“reasonably necessary.”
To be sure, § 3599(f) does not ensure the “total success” (emphasis added) of an
investigator, or “establish[] a substantive right for that person to acquire that information
over all possible obstacles” (emphasis added), as the majority notes. Yet nothing in
§ 3599(f) prohibits a federal court from finding, in circumstances such as the examples
No. 10-5584 Baze v. Parker Page 13
described above, that state action frustrated the “services” a federal court authorized
counsel to obtain. I believe we would have jurisdiction under § 3599(f) to address that
case when it arises, and to remedy any such interference.