McClary v. Pepe

USCA1 Opinion









November 17, 1995 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION] [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT


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No. 94-2294 No. 94-2294

ROBERT E. McCLARY, ROBERT E. McCLARY,

Petitoner, Appellant, Petitoner, Appellant,

v. v.

PETER A. PEPE, JR., ET AL., PETER A. PEPE, JR., ET AL.,

Respondents, Appellees. Respondents, Appellees.


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ERRATA SHEET ERRATA SHEET



The opinion of this Court issued on November 9, 1995, is The opinion of this Court issued on November 9, 1995, is
amended as follows: amended as follows:

On page 2, footnote 27 is changed to footnote 1. On page 2, footnote 27 is changed to footnote 1.


































November 9, 1995
[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT


____________________


No. 94-2294

ROBERT E. McCLARY,

Petitoner, Appellant,

v.

PETER A. PEPE, JR., ET AL.,

Respondents, Appellees.


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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

[Hon. Joseph L. Tauro, U.S. District Judge] ___________________

____________________

Before

Torruella, Chief Judge, ___________
Selya and Boudin, Circuit Judges. ______________

____________________

Robert E. McClary on brief pro se. _________________
Scott Harshbarger, Attorney General, and Pamela L. Hunt, __________________ _________________
Assistant Attorney General, on brief for appellees.


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Per Curiam. Pro se plaintiff Robert McClary appeals from __________ ___ __

the summary dismissal of his habeas corpus petition. He

claims that his conviction for trafficking cocaine is

unconstitutional because the prosecutor violated Doyle v. _____

Ohio, 426 U.S. 610 (1976), by improperly cross-examining ____

McClary and commenting on McClary's post-arrest silence in

his closing argument.

We have thoroughly reviewed the record and the parties'

briefs on appeal. We are persuaded that the habeas petition

was properly dismissed under Anderson v. Charles, 447 U.S. ________ _______

404, 408-09 (1981), (per curiam), and Grieco v. Hall, 641 ______ ____

F.2d 1029, 1032-36 (1st Cir. 1981). We note that even if we

assumed arguendo that Doyle error is present, habeas relief _____

is not warranted here. The record discloses that the

evidence against McClary was strong and that the error could

not have had a substantial and injurious effect on the

verdict. See Brecht v. Abrahamson, 113 S. Ct. 1711, 1722 ___ ______ __________

(1993). While we need not decide whether the "harmless

beyond a reasonable doubt" test of Chapman v. California, 386 _______ __________

U.S. 18, 24 (1967), should be applied to this appeal1, the

evidence indicates that any alleged Doyle error was harmless _____

under this test as well. Accordingly, the judgment of the




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1. While McClary made this argument below, he has failed to
develop it on appeal. Thus, the point has been waived. See ___
United States v. Zannino, 895 F.2d 1, 17 (1st Cir.), cert. ______________ _______ _____
denied, 494 U.S. 1082 (1990). ______













district court is affirmed. ________



















































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