Maharaj v. Secretary for the Department of Corrections

[PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
FILED
________________________ U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
December 15, 2005
No. 04-14669
THOMAS K. KAHN
________________________ CLERK

D. C. Docket No. 02-22240-CV-PCH

KRISHNA MAHARAJ,

Petitioner-Appellant,

versus

SECRETARY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
James V. Crosby,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA,
Charlie Crist,

Respondents-Appellees.

________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
_________________________

(December 15, 2005)

Before HULL, MARCUS and HILL, Circuit Judges.

MARCUS, Circuit Judge:
 Krishna Maharaj appeals from the district court’s denial of his petition for a

writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 claiming that the state

prosecutor’s office improperly withheld Brady material, that he received

ineffective assistance of counsel, and that he was denied his rights under the

Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The Florida Supreme Court denied

Maharaj’s application for post-conviction relief in all respects.

After thorough review, we affirm. The Florida Supreme Court’s disposition

of Maharaj’s claims was neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of

clearly established federal law; nor was its decision based on an unreasonable

determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court

proceedings.

I.

The basic facts and procedural history are straightforward. A state-court

jury in Miami-Dade County, Florida found Maharaj guilty of two counts of first

degree murder, two counts of kidnaping, and one count of unlawful possession of a

firearm while engaged in a criminal offense, for the shooting deaths of Duane and

Derrick Moo Young. Maharaj was sentenced to die for one of the murder counts,

to life imprisonment without the possibility for parole for twenty-five years for the

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second murder count, to two life sentences for the kidnaping counts, and to fifteen

years’ imprisonment for the firearm count. His convictions and sentences were

upheld by the Florida Supreme Court on direct appeal. Maharaj v. State, 597 So.

2d 786 (Fla. 1992) (“Maharaj I”). His subsequent request for post-conviction relief

was denied by the state trial court, which was, in turn, reversed by the Florida

Supreme Court for failing to hold an evidentiary hearing and for failing to recuse

in light of an ethical conflict. Maharaj v. State, 684 So. 2d 726 (Fla. 1996)

(“Maharaj II”). On remand, the trial court denied Maharaj’s post-conviction

application for relief as to his conviction, but granted his request to vacate the

death sentence. Maharaj v. State, 778 So. 2d 944 (Fla. 2000) (“Maharaj III”). A

new penalty trial was ordered, after which Maharaj was sentenced to life

imprisonment on the murder count for which he had previously been sentenced to

die.

The facts giving rise to Maharaj’s convictions, taken from the three opinions

of the Florida Supreme Court and from the testimony presented at his trial, are

these. Krishna Maharaj is a British national, born in Trinidad, who was living in

South Florida in October of 1986. He owned and operated a newspaper, the

Caribbean Times, that catered to the West Indian Community. In the spring of

1986, Maharaj approached Eslee Carberry, the owner of another South Florida

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community newspaper, the Caribbean Echo, and told Carberry that Derrick Moo

Young had stolen money from him. He gave Carberry documents that purported to

corroborate his accusations about Derrick Moo Young, and paid the Caribbean

Echo a $400 “sponsorship fee” to publish an article detailing the alleged theft.

After the article appeared in the Caribbean Echo, Derrick Moo Young

contacted Carberry to provide his side of the story. Carberry testified that he met

with Derrick Moo Young twice, and that Moo Young provided documents

detailing a lawsuit he had filed against Maharaj. Subsequently, the Caribbean

Echo published a series of articles describing Maharaj’s alleged involvement in an

illegal scam to take millions of dollars out of Trinidad.

The state’s most important trial witness was Neville Butler, a reporter for the

Caribbean Echo. Butler testified that in the course of writing for the Caribbean

Echo, he had occasion to meet Derrick Moo Young and had assisted in writing

some of the articles critical of Maharaj. At some point in September of 1986,

Butler contacted the Caribbean Times after hearing from a friend that Maharaj

might be interested in having Butler write for his paper too. He met with both

Maharaj and Maharaj’s wife, and although he was never officially hired, he wrote

several articles for the Caribbean Times under various pen names.

4
 Butler testified that shortly after he became associated with Maharaj and his

periodical, Maharaj told him that Carberry and Moo Young were trying to extort

money from Maharaj’s relatives in Trinidad in exchange for suppressing still other

stories critical of Maharaj and his family. Maharaj also told him that Carberry and

Moo Young suggested to people in Trinidad that Butler was really behind the

extortionate attempts. Butler said that Maharaj asked him to set up a meeting with

Derrick Moo Young, so that Maharaj could: (1) extract a confession from Moo

Young that he was actually behind the extortion and bribery; (2) require Moo

Young to write two checks to repay him for the fraud; and (3) cause Butler to go to

a bank with the checks and certify them, at which time Maharaj would permit Moo

Young to leave.

Maharaj made it clear to Butler that Moo Young would not knowingly agree

to a meeting with Maharaj. Accordingly, in order to trick Moo Young into meeting

with Maharaj, a plan was devised whereby Butler would tell Moo Young, who was

engaged in importing and exporting goods, that two individuals from the Bahamas

(Eddie Dames and Prince Ellis) would be in Miami and that they were interested in

purchasing goods for their catering business. Butler arranged for the meeting to be

held on October 16, 1986, in Dames’ room at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in Miami.

He never informed Moo Young that Maharaj would be at the meeting.

5
 Maharaj and Butler met at the Dupont on the morning of October 16. Butler

gave Dames the keys to his rental car and instructed Dames that he would meet

Dames in the lobby at around noon or 1:00 p.m. - - which would allow sufficient

time to use Dames’ room for the 11:00 a.m. meeting with Moo Young. When

Derrick Moo Young arrived at the Dupont Plaza Hotel for the meeting, Butler was

surprised to see that Moo Young had unexpectedly brought along his son, twenty-

three-year-old Duane Moo Young.

As the Moo Youngs entered Dupont Plaza Hotel room 1215, Maharaj

emerged from behind the door carrying a pillow in his left hand and a gun in his

gloved right hand. Soon thereafter, an argument ensued, and Maharaj shot Derrick

Moo Young in the leg. Maharaj then instructed Butler to tie up Duane and Derrick

Moo Young. Before he could do so, Derrick Moo Young lunged at Maharaj, who

again shot Derrick Moo Young, hitting him three or four more times. Maharaj then

turned his attention to Duane Moo Young, who Butler had loosely tied to a chair

with the cord from an immersion heater. While Maharaj was talking to Duane

Moo Young, Derrick Moo Young managed to open the door to the hallway and

attempted to crawl outside. Once he noticed the escape attempt, Maharaj shot

Derrick Moo Young still again and dragged him back inside the room by his

ankles.

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 Butler testified that Maharaj then went back to interrogating Duane Moo

Young, attempting to verify what the Moo Youngs had done with the money

allegedly extorted from Maharaj’s relatives in Trinidad. Soon thereafter, a person

identifying himself as a hotel security guard shouted from outside the room that he

noticed blood in the hall and inquired whether everyone was all right. According

to Butler, Maharaj moved towards the door and responded that everything was all

right. After several minutes of silence, Maharaj opened the door, poked his head

out into the hall and appeared to tell someone that everything was all right. After

Maharaj re-entered the room, Duane Moo Young unsuccessfully lunged at Maharaj

in an attempt to gain control of the gun. Maharaj continued to interrogate Duane

Moo Young, this time on the top floor of the two-level hotel suite.

Butler, who remained on the lower floor, testified that he then heard a single

shot from above, after which Maharaj came downstairs alone, and they both left

the room. Maharaj and Butler took the elevator to the ground floor and retrieved

Maharaj’s car from the parking lot. They drove around the block. Butler voiced

his opinion that they needed to wait at the hotel for Dames to return. Maharaj

agreed, and they parked in front of the hotel for approximately three hours until

Dames returned.

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 While parked in front of the hotel, Maharaj told Butler that he was just as

guilty for what happened in the room as Maharaj was, because Butler had arranged

the meeting and been present during the killings. Maharaj promised Butler that he

would take care of him, stating that he would give Butler a job with the Caribbean

Times, provide a down payment for Butler’s house, and give him a car.

When Dames finally arrived at the Dupont, Butler exited the car, retrieved

his car keys from Dames, and left the scene. Later that day, Maharaj contacted

Butler and told him he wanted to meet at a Denny’s restaurant near the Miami

Airport so they could coordinate their stories. Butler subsequently met up with

Dames and Ellis, who had given statements to police investigators. Dames and

Ellis convinced Butler to contact the police. Butler then called the lead

investigator on the case, Miami Police Detective John Buhrmaster, and explained

what had happened in the hotel room. Butler brought Buhrmaster to the Denny’s,

where Maharaj was arrested.

The State presented other witnesses at trial who testified as to motive and

prior acts by Maharaj that were consistent with the murders at the Dupont Plaza

Hotel. For example, Tino Geddes, a journalist at the Caribbean Echo, testified that

Maharaj had purchased camouflage clothing and exotic weapons and had twice

attempted to ambush Eslee Carberry. Furthermore, Geddes said that on one

8
occasion, Maharaj met him at the Dupont Plaza Hotel, with a handgun, and asked

Geddes to call Derrick Moo Young and Eslee Carberry and lure them to the hotel.

Although Geddes called both, neither came.

The State also presented corroborating testimonial and physical evidence.

Loretta Molaskey, a maid at the Dupont Plaza Hotel, testified that she thoroughly

cleaned the room where the murders occurred (suite 1215) on the morning of

October 16, 1986, and that it appeared as if nobody had slept in the room the night

before. She said that at around 12:15 p.m., her boss summoned her to room 1215

where he saw blood on the hallway carpet outside the door. While there, she

noticed that the room was double-locked from the inside, preventing her from

opening it with the master key, and that there was no “Do Not Disturb” sign on the

exterior of the door. Some five to ten minutes later, Molaskey was contacted by

hotel security and again asked to return to room 1215. She did, discovering that

the door was no longer double-locked and there was a “Do Not Disturb” sign

hanging on the exterior doorknob. At the request of the security guard, she opened

the door with the master key and discovered the bodies of Derrick and Duane Moo

Young.

Other hotel employees testified similarly. Miguel Sueiras, Ms. Molaskey’s

boss, testified that when he summoned Molaskey to open the door to room 1215,

9
there was blood on the outside carpet, the door was double-locked, and there was

no “Do Not Disturb” sign hanging on the doorknob. Jorge Aparicio, a security

guard at the Dupont, testified that he too noticed blood outside room 1215, and

when he asked whether everyone inside was all right, someone inside answered

that everything was fine. He also noticed that there was no “Do Not Disturb” sign

on the door at that time.

The State also presented a fingerprint expert who testified that Maharaj’s

fingerprints were found in approximately twelve places in room 1215, including on

the “Do Not Disturb” sign that was found on the exterior doorknob when the room

was opened, on the exterior portion of the entrance door, on the interior bathroom

door and doorframe, on the top of the bureau, on a soda can found on the bureau,

on the telephone and television, on the bottom of a glass tabletop, on a piece of

paper left in an ashtray, on two newspapers, and on the torn plastic packages for

the immersion cords.

A firearms expert testified that, based on multiple projectiles and fragments

recovered from the hotel room and Derrick Moo Young’s body, eight bullets were

fired from a Smith & Wesson model 39, nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol with

a serial number less than 270000. Richard Bellrose, a city of Miramar police

officer, testified that he sold a Smith & Wesson model 39 pistol, serial number

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A235464, to his supervising lieutenant in 1986, who in turn sold the gun to

Krishna Maharaj. Gregory Jansen, a City of Plantation police officer, testified that

Krishna Maharaj was stopped for a traffic infraction on July 26, 1986, some three

months before the murders, and that he found a Smith & Wesson model 39, nine-

millimeter handgun, bearing serial number A235464, in the trunk of Maharaj’s car.

Finally, Sylvia Ramos, a crime scene technician with the City of Miami Police

Department, testified that Derrick Moo Young had black gunpowder on the upper-

right shoulder area of his shirt, a finding consistent with having been shot at very

close range.

As noted, the state-court jury found Petitioner guilty on all counts. After his

convictions were affirmed and he was denied state post-conviction relief on the

guilt phase of his case, Maharaj petitioned for federal habeas relief. The

application was referred to a federal magistrate judge, who recommended denying

relief on all counts. Petitioner objected to the Report and Recommendation, and

the district judge conducted a de novo review of the entire Petition. In a lengthy

and comprehensive order, the district judge denied relief as to each of Petitioner’s

claims. Petitioner filed a timely appeal and the case is now properly before us.

II.

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 Maharaj commenced his federal habeas petition after the effective date of

the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), Pub. L.

No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996), and, therefore, the provisions of that Act

govern this appeal. Wade v. Battle, 379 F.3d 1254, 1259 (11th Cir. 2004). Under

AEDPA, Petitioner was required to obtain a Certificate of Appealability (“COA”)

before he could appeal the district court’s decision. See 28 U.S.C. §

2253(c)(1)(A). A COA must be specific in detailing the issues appropriate for

appeal, and “appellate review is limited to the issues specified in the COA.”

Murray v. United States, 145 F.3d 1249, 1251 (11th Cir. 1998).

In the initial order denying habeas relief, the district court listed five issues

as being worthy of appeal: 1) whether the State prejudicially suppressed

discoverable Brady material by not disclosing the report of Neville Butler’s

polygraph examination; 2) whether the State prejudicially suppressed discoverable

Brady material by not allowing access to or disclosing the contents of the victims’

briefcase; 3) whether the State prejudicially suppressed discoverable Brady

material by not disclosing any knowledge of or information in its control regarding

the victims’ life insurance policies; 4) whether Petitioner’s trial counsel was

constitutionally ineffective for not investigating allegations of pending charges and

outstanding warrants against Petitioner in England before advising his client not to

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testify during the guilt phase of his trial; and 5) whether, in light of recent opinions

of the International Court of Justice (“I.C.J.”), a federal court has jurisdiction to

determine, on the merits, whether the State violated Petitioner’s right to consular

notification despite the Florida Supreme Court’s finding that Maharaj had

procedurally defaulted this claim by failing to raise it on direct appeal. The district

court subsequently entered an amended COA, adding a sixth issue: whether

Maharaj was prejudiced by the alleged Brady violations, when considered

individually or in concert.

Maharaj moved for a COA, which we viewed as a request to expand the

scope of the district court’s COA. We denied that request. He now claims that he

should be permitted to present every argument contained in his original federal

habeas petition.1 We deny this request and limit our review to the six issues

outlined in the district court’s COA. See Murray, 145 F.3d at 1251.

III.

1
The claims in his petition can generally be grouped this way: 1) denial of adequate
resources to present his state collateral attack; 2) failure of the state courts to consider the
aggregate effect of his claims; 3) numerous alleged Brady violations; 4) numerous allegations of
ineffective assistance of counsel; 5) denial of the right to testify in his own defense; 6) numerous
allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct; 7) new evidence suggesting actual
innocence; 8) numerous alleged Giglio violations; 9) perjured testimony at the grand jury
proceedings; and 10) violations of international law.

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 After his appeal was filed in this Court, indeed after briefing was complete

and an oral argument date had been scheduled, Petitioner asked us to stay

consideration of the case pending resolution of a motion he filed in state court on

September 2, 2005. The state court motion seeks post-conviction relief on the

ground that Maharaj’s rights under the Vienna Convention were violated when the

arresting officers failed to inform him that he could contact the British consulate.

Although the claim was previously presented in the state post-conviction

proceedings, it was never considered on the merits because Maharaj failed to raise

it on direct appeal. See Maharaj III, 778 So. 2d at 959 (holding that because

Maharaj did not raise the Vienna Convention claim on direct appeal, Florida law

procedurally barred him from doing so in post-conviction proceedings).

Rarely are we asked to stay appellate proceedings in deference to concurrent

state litigation. However, in providing guidance to the district courts, where this

situation arises more frequently, we have looked to the Supreme Court’s decision

in Colorado River Water Conservation Dist. v. United States, 424 U.S. 800, 96 S.

Ct. 1236, 47 L. Ed. 2d 483 (1976). See Moorer v. Demopolis Waterworks &

Sewer Bd., 374 F.3d 994, 997 (11th Cir. 2004) (noting that “[t]he Colorado River

doctrine of exceptional circumstances authorizes a federal district court to dismiss

or stay an action when there is ongoing parallel action in state court”) (internal

14
quotation marks and citation omitted); see also Currie v. Group Ins. Comm’n, 290

F.3d 1, 9-13 (1st Cir. 2002) (analyzing the Colorado River factors in deciding

whether it should stay a case currently on appeal in deference to concurrent state

litigation). In Colorado River, the Supreme Court cautioned that federal courts

have a “virtually unflagging obligation . . . to exercise the jurisdiction given them”

and that a federal case should be dismissed in deference to a state proceeding in

only the most “exceptional” of circumstances. 427 U.S. at 817-18, 96 S. Ct. at

1246.

We have applied the following factors in considering whether to stay or

dismiss a case because of concurrent state litigation:

(1) the order in which the courts assumed jurisdiction over property;
(2) the relative inconvenience of the fora; (3) the order in which
jurisdiction was obtained and the relative progress of the two actions;
(4) the desire to avoid piecemeal litigation; (5) whether federal law
provides the rule of decision; and (6) whether the state court will
adequately protect the rights of all parties.

TranSouth Fin. Corp. v. Bell, 149 F.3d 1292, 1294-95 (11th Cir. 1998)

(summarizing the factors set forth by the Supreme Court in Colorado River and

Moses H. Cone Mem’l Hosp. v. Mercury Constr. Co., 460 U.S. 1, 103 S. Ct. 927,

74 L. Ed. 2d 765 (1983)). The decision of whether to stay a case, however, does

not rest on a mechanical checklist, and the weight of each factor will vary from

15
case to case. Moorer, 374 F.3d at 997 (noting that “[o]ne factor alone can be the

sole motivating reason for the abstention”).

Maharaj relies on three points in explaining why a stay would be appropriate

here: 1) the I.C.J.’s opinion in Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican

Nationals (Mexico v. United States), 2004 I.C.J. 12 (Mar. 31); 2) a memorandum

from President Bush to the Attorney General on February 28, 2005; and 3) the

Supreme Court’s recent order in Medellin v. Dretke, ---U.S.---, 125 S. Ct. 2088,

161 L. Ed. 2d 982 (2005). Petitioner suggests that he was never informed of his

right to contact the British consulate after his arrest, in violation of the Vienna

Convention, and that the state courts should have considered the merits of his

claim, irrespective of the procedural bar. That is the argument he makes in his

newly filed state-court motion and the same one he now contends should cause us

to stay these proceedings. Application of the standards generally used in

determining the wisdom of a stay yields the conclusion that we should go forward

with Maharaj’s appeal now.

To begin with, both the United States and the United Kingdom are parties to

the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Article 36 of the Vienna

Convention provides that upon arrest, a foreign national has the right to contact the

consular post of his home country, and that the arresting authorities must inform

16
the detainee of that right. Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, art. 36(1)(b),

Apr. 24, 1963, 21 U.S.T. 77, 101, T.I.A.S. No. 6820.2 Once a detainee is informed

of his right to contact the local consulate’s office, the arresting authorities must

forward any desired communications to that foreign office. Id.

The Optional Protocol to the Vienna Convention further provides that

“[d]isputes arising out of the interpretation or application of the Convention shall

lie within the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.”

Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes, art. I, April

18, 1961, 21 U.S.T. 326, T.I.A.S. No. 6820 (“the Optional Protocol”). In March of

2004, the I.C.J. issued an opinion in a case brought by Mexico against the United

States on behalf of fifty-two Mexican nationals arrested in this country who

alleged that their rights of notification and contact had been denied them by

various domestic law enforcement authorities. See Case Concerning Avena And

Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States), 2004 I.C.J. 12 (Mar. 31). In

Avena, the I.C.J. held that an arresting authority must notify a foreign national of

2
The Convention specifically provides that “if he so requests, the competent authorities
of the receiving state shall, without delay, inform the consular post of the sending State if, within
its consular district, a national of that State is arrested or committed to prison or to custody
pending trial or is detained in any other manner. Any communication addressed to the consular
post by the person arrested, in prison, custody or detention shall also be forwarded by the said
authorities without delay. The said authorities shall inform the person concerned without delay
of his rights under this sub-paragraph.” Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, art. 36(1)(b),
Apr. 24, 1963, 21 U.S.T. 77, 101, T.I.A.S. No. 6820.

17
his rights regarding contact with the local consulate once the detaining officials

realize the person is a foreign national, or once there are grounds to believe the

person is probably a foreign national. Avena, 2004 I.C.J. 12, at 43. The I.C.J.

found that those rights had been violated as to some of the named Avena plaintiffs,

and the court ordered the United States to permit “review and reconsideration” of

the relevant cases by United States courts, “with a view to ascertaining whether in

each case the violation of Article 36 committed by the competent authorities

caused actual prejudice to the defendant.” Id. at 59-60. The I.C.J. also determined

that the application of state procedural default rules prevented full effect from

being given to those rights accorded under Article 36, and, therefore, that the

application of procedural default rules violates Article 36. Id. at 57.

Following the I.C.J.’s decision in Avena, President Bush issued a

memorandum to the Attorney General in which he ordered that the United States

discharge its international obligations under the Avena decision by “having State

courts give effect to the decision in accordance with general principles of comity in

cases filed by the 51 Mexican nationals addressed in that decision.” Medellin, 125

S. Ct. at 2090 (citing the February 28, 2005 memorandum from President George

W. Bush to the Attorney General) (emphasis added). Shortly thereafter, however,

the Secretary of State transmitted a letter to the Secretary General of the United

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Nations withdrawing the United States from the Optional Protocol, see Medellin,

125 S. Ct. at 2101 (O’Connor, J., dissenting), thereby removing the United States

from the provision of the Vienna Convention that provides jurisdiction to the I.C.J.

Thereafter, in the Medellin case, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to

consider whether a federal court is bound by the holding of the I.C.J. in Avena, and

whether a federal court should give effect, as a matter of judicial comity and

uniform treaty interpretation, to the I.C.J.’s judgment. Medellin, 125 S. Ct. at

2089. Medellin, the petitioner in that case, was one of the fifty-two named Avena

plaintiffs. The Court noted that Medellin had filed a successive state application

for a writ of habeas corpus while his case was pending before the Supreme Court,

and that this application “may provide Medellin with the review and

reconsideration of his Vienna Convention claim that the ICJ required, and that

Medellin now seeks in [the federal proceeding].” Id. at 2090. Additionally, the

Court observed that there were five basic procedural issues it would have to

address before it could reach the merits, including: 1) whether a violation of the

Vienna Convention was one of those “nonconstitutional lapses” cognizable in a

federal post-conviction proceeding; 2) whether the state court’s judgment could be

considered contrary to, or an unreasonable application of clearly established

federal law; 3) whether or how the decision announced in Avena bears on the

19
normal requirement that a habeas petitioner cannot enforce a “new rule of law”

pursuant to Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 109 S. Ct. 1060, 103 L. Ed. 2d 334

(1989); 4) whether a violation of the Vienna Convention could be considered a

denial of a constitutional right for the purposes of a COA; and 5) whether the

claims based on Avena and the President’s memorandum were exhausted in state

court. Medellin, 125 S. Ct. at 2090-92 (internal quotation marks omitted).

Because of the possibility that the State of Texas might provide Medellin with the

relief he was seeking, the Court thought it “unwise to reach and resolve the

multiple hindrances to dispositive answers” lurking in Medellin’s case. Id. at

2092. Accordingly, it dismissed certiorari as having been improvidently granted.

Id.

With this background we apply the Colorado River factors to this case.

Neither of the first two considerations is particularly helpful here, because there is

no real property at issue, and neither forum appears substantially more or less

convenient than the other. The third factor, which looks to the order in which

jurisdiction was obtained and the relative progress of the two actions, weighs in

favor of denying the stay. Maharaj waited until September 2, 2005, to file his

motion in state court, well after briefing had been completed in this case and,

indeed, less than six weeks before oral argument was scheduled in the appellate

20
court. We can discern no apparent reason for the delay. Avena was decided in

early 2004, the President’s memorandum issued in February of this year, and the

Supreme Court dismissed certiorari in Medellin on May 23, 2005. Although under

the facts of this dispute the relative timing of the two cases is a lesser

consideration, this factor weighs in favor of denying the stay request.

The fourth factor, the desire to avoid piecemeal litigation, weighs far more

heavily in favor of denying the request for a stay. Quite simply, we are not

convinced that there is even a reasonable probability that the state court action will

be resolved in such a way as to “moot” any of the issues currently before us. See

Jefferson County v. Acker, 210 F.3d 1317, 1318 n.1 (11th Cir. 2000) (noting that

the court had denied a stay of appellate proceedings because there did not appear to

be a reasonable probability that any of the federal issues would be rendered moot

by the state proceedings); Am. Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Edward D. Stone Jr. &

Assoc., 743 F.2d 1519, 1524-25 (11th Cir. 1984) (reversing the district court’s

decision to enter a stay pending the resolution of state court litigation because the

state action “probably will not resolve the issues pending in the federal litigation”);

see also Currie, 290 F.3d at 11. The only way the proceedings before us could be

resolved or rendered moot would be if the state court found that Maharaj is entitled

to relief on the merits of his Vienna Convention claim and vacated his prior

21
conviction - - thereby completely obviating the need for us to consider his current

appeal. There is no reasonable probability that will happen.

First, Florida’s state courts are bound (just as we are) by the Supreme

Court’s decision in Breard v. Greene, 523 U.S. 371, 118 S. Ct. 1352, 140 L. Ed. 2d

529 (1998). In Breard, the Court unambiguously held that a habeas petitioner’s

Vienna Convention claim was procedurally barred in federal court because it was

not raised in the state court proceedings. Id. at 375, 118 S. Ct. at 1354. The Court

noted the well-recognized principle of international law that “absent a clear and

express statement to the contrary, the procedural rules of the forum State govern

the implementation of [a] treaty in that State.” Id. The Supreme Court has not

retreated from its position in Breard, and none of the recent developments cited to

us call the holding of Breard into substantial question, let alone overrule Breard.

Thus, there is no reasonable probability that Florida’s state courts could find

themselves free of the constraints of Breard, regardless of the I.C.J.’s holding in

Avena.

Second, even if Florida’s courts somehow found a way to consider the

Vienna Convention claim in spite of the procedural default, it seems to us that

claim would likely fail on the merits anyway. The Florida Supreme Court has

already definitively held that an individual does not have standing to raise a claim

22
under the Vienna Convention, which constitutes an “agreement[] between

countries, not citizens.” Gordon v. State, 863 So. 2d 1215, 1221 (Fla. 2003);

Maharaj III, 778 So. 2d at 959.

Although our case law is not binding upon a Florida state court, our

precedent similarly supports the idea that the Vienna Convention does not confer

judicially enforceable individual rights. In United States v. Duarte-Acero, 296

F.3d 1277 (11th Cir. 2002), we found that a criminal defendant could not seek to

have an indictment dismissed based on an alleged violation of Article 36 of the

Vienna Convention. Id. at 1281. As support, we cited to the preamble of the

Convention itself, which “disclaims any intent to create individual rights, stating

that its purpose ‘is not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient performance

of functions by consular posts.’” Id. at 1281-82 (quoting the Preamble to the

Vienna Convention). We also noted several extra-textual sources, including the

State Department’s view “that the only remedies for a violation of the Vienna

Convention are diplomatic, political, or derived from international law,” and the

fact that no party to the Vienna Convention had ever dismissed an indictment

based on a violation of Article 36. Id. at 1282. Although our holding in Duarte-

Acero was limited to the remedy sought in that case, which was dismissal of the

indictment, the sources we used to support that holding seemingly prohibit any

23
individual remedy. The Preamble is clear; the Convention is not intended to

benefit individuals. The State Department’s interpretation of the treaty, which is

entitled to our respect, see El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd. v. Tsui Yuan Tseng, 525 U.S.

155, 168, 119 S. Ct. 662, 671, 142 L. Ed. 2d 576 (1999), is also unambiguous; the

only remedies for a violation of the Vienna Convention are diplomatic, political, or

derived from international law.

Because of the Supreme Court’s clear holding in Breard that violations of

the Vienna Convention are subject to procedural default rules and the decisions of

the Florida Supreme Court that Article 36 does not confer judicially enforceable

individual rights, we remain unpersuaded that there is a reasonable probability

Maharaj will prevail in the parallel state litigation. We are keenly aware of the

comity due state court proceedings and the resources wasted when two courts

unnecessarily proceed along the same track and at the same time. Those powerful

considerations, however, are not apparent in this habeas petition, and the chances

of conflicting results or wasted resources are improbably small. The fourth factor

weighs heavily in favor of denying Petitioner’s request for a stay.

We are also aware that the Supreme Court has recently granted certiorari in

two cases that raise issues under the Vienna Convention. See Sanchez-Llamas v.

Oregon, —S. Ct.—, No. 04-10566 (Nov. 7, 2005); Bustillo v. Johnson,—S. Ct.—,

24
No. 05-51 (Nov. 7, 2005). That the Court has granted certiorari in cases that may

provide the vehicle by which it could overrule Breard does not change our

conclusion. For even if Breard were overruled, Maharaj would still be a long way

from the relief he seeks. Before our case could be rendered moot, the Florida

courts would first have to determine that the Supreme Court’s potential ruling

applied to cases on collateral review, then that the Vienna Convention provides an

individual with a remedy (the treaty mentions none), and finally that the specific

remedy necessary to nullify our case (a new trial) is available and appropriate

under these facts. There is no reasonable probability Maharaj will successfully

navigate around each of these substantial hurdles.

The fifth factor - - whether federal law provides the rule of decision - - does

not weigh heavily in either direction, since the questions presented involve both

state and federal law. Finally, the sixth factor, which asks whether the state court

will adequately protect the rights of all parties, is similarly unavailing under the

facts of this case.

Accordingly, we decline the invitation to stay our hand in favor of the

recently filed state proceeding. This case was originally tried some seventeen

years ago in 1987, making the time for finality long overdue. We proceed to the

merits of this habeas petition.

25
 IV.

When examining a district court’s denial of a § 2254 habeas petition, we

review questions of law and mixed questions of law and fact de novo, and findings

of fact for clear error. LeCroy v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 421 F.3d 1237, 1259

(11th Cir. 2005). However, in reviewing the decisions of the Florida Supreme

Court, we are governed by the terms of AEDPA, which provides, among others,

that we may grant a writ of habeas corpus only if (1) the state decision was

“contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established

Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States,” or (2) the

state decision was “based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of

the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). The

district court concluded that Maharaj failed to meet this exacting standard. We

agree.

The phrase “clearly established Federal law,” as used in § 2254(d)(1),

encompasses only the holdings of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 412, 120 S. Ct. 1495, 1523, 146 L. Ed. 2d 389

(2000) (holding that the language of § 2254(d)(1) expressly “restricts the source of

clearly established law to [the Supreme Court’s] jurisprudence”). As we have

previously explained,

26
 § 2254(d)(1) provides a measuring stick for federal habeas courts
reviewing state court decisions. That measuring stick is “clearly
established Federal law.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). Clearly established
federal law is not the case law of the lower federal courts, including
this Court. Instead, in the habeas context, clearly established federal
law “refers to the holdings, as opposed to the dicta, of [the Supreme
Court’s] decisions as of the time of the relevant state court decision.”
Williams, 529 U.S. at 412, 120 S. Ct. at 1523.

Putman v. Head, 268 F.3d 1223, 1241 (11th Cir. 2001) (footnote omitted).

Moreover, section 2254(d)(1) provides two separate bases for reviewing

state court decisions; the “contrary to” and “unreasonable application” clauses

articulate independent considerations a federal court must consider. See Williams,

529 U.S. at 404-05, 120 S. Ct. at 1519; Henderson v. Campbell, 353 F.3d 880, 890

n.15 (11th Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 125 S. Ct. 44 (2004). A state court decision is

contrary to clearly established federal law if either “(1) the state court applied a

rule that contradicts the governing law set forth by Supreme Court case law, or (2)

when faced with materially indistinguishable facts, the state court arrived at a

result different from that reached in a Supreme Court case.” Putman, 268 F.3d at

1241. An “unreasonable application” of clearly established federal law may occur

if the state court “identifies the correct legal rule from Supreme Court case law but

unreasonably applies this rule to the facts of the petitioner’s case.” Id. “An

unreasonable application may also occur if a state court unreasonably extends, or

27
unreasonably declines to extend, a legal principle from Supreme Court case law to

a new context.” Id.

Section 2254(d)(2) provides an additional basis upon which a federal court

may grant a writ of habeas corpus to a state prisoner: when the state court’s

decision “was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the

evidence presented in the State court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2). A state

court’s determination of the facts, however, is entitled to substantial deference. 28

U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1) (noting that “a determination of a factual issue made by a State

court shall be presumed to be correct” and that an “applicant shall have the burden

of rebutting the presumption of correctness by clear and convincing evidence”).

With these principles in mind, we review the merits of Petitioner’s Brady claims,

his ineffective assistance of counsel claim, and his Vienna Convention claim.

V.

First, Maharaj suggests that state prosecutors violated Brady by failing to

disclose: 1) the results of Neville Butler’s polygraph examination; 2) the contents

of the Moo Youngs’ briefcase; and 3) the Moo Youngs’ life insurance policies.

In Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S. Ct. 1194, 1196-97, 10 L. Ed.

2d 215 (1963), the Supreme Court enunciated the now well-established principle

28
that “the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon

request violates due process when the evidence is material either to guilt or to

punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution.” The

duty to disclose exculpatory evidence is applicable even in the absence of a request

by the defendant, and it encompasses impeachment material as well as exculpatory

evidence. See Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 280, 119 S. Ct. 1936, 1948, 144

L. Ed. 2d 286 (1999). Moreover, evidence is material “if there is a reasonable

probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the

proceeding would have been different.” Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 433-34,

115 S. Ct. 1555, 1565, 131 L. Ed. 2d 490 (1995) (internal quotation marks and

citations omitted). The Supreme Court has condensed these basic principles into

three components, each of which is necessary to establish a Brady violation: “The

evidence at issue must be favorable to the accused, either because it is exculpatory,

or because it is impeaching; that evidence must have been suppressed by the State,

either willfully or inadvertently; and prejudice must have ensued.” Strickler, 527

U.S. at 281-82, 119 S. Ct. at 1948.

A constant theme found throughout Maharaj’s appeal is that the district court

erred in so far as it considered the various Brady violations individually, and not

acting in concert. In Kyles, the Supreme Court made clear that a Brady materiality

29
determination must consider the aggregate effect of all the suppressed evidence.

Kyles, 514 U.S. at 436, 441, 115 S. Ct. at 1567, 1569. That does not mean,

however, that an individual assessment of each piece of suppressed evidence is

somehow inappropriate. Indeed, the only way to evaluate the cumulative effect is

to first examine each piece standing alone. See id. at 436 n.10, 115 S. Ct. at 1567

n.10 (noting that “[w]e evaluate the tendency and force of the undisclosed evidence

item by item; there is no other way. We evaluate its cumulative effect for purposes

of materiality separately and at the end of the discussion . . . .”). We have followed

this approach in our own cases. See, e.g., Kelley v. Sec’y for the Dep’t of Corr.,

377 F.3d 1317, 1355, 1369 (11th Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 125 S. Ct. 2962 (2005);

Zeigler v. Crosby, 345 F.3d 1300, 1305-06 (11th Cir. 2003). In this case the

district court followed the appropriate methodology, considering each Brady item

individually, and only then making a determination about the cumulative impact.

We do the same.

A. Neville Butler’s Polygraph

The first Brady claim relates to a polygraph exam taken by the government’s

principle witness, Neville Butler. Maharaj contends that the State did not disclose

the polygraph examiner’s written report that details his conclusions regarding

Butler’s truthfulness. The record reveals that after Butler was initially deposed, the

30
State asked him to sit for a polygraph examination. The polygrapher asked Butler

questions about the events leading up to the murders, what actually happened in the

hotel room, and what occurred after Butler and Maharaj left the hotel room. All

told, Butler was asked eleven questions.3

In his written report, the examiner concluded that Butler was truthful in

answering eight of the eleven questions. As for questions four and six, concerning

whether Butler knew Derrick Moo Young was going to be shot before the incident

occurred and whether Butler told the complete truth about the shooting incident,

the examiner opined that the results were ambiguous and inconclusive. Finally, as

to question ten - - whether Maharaj remained in a car for two and a half hours

following the shooting - - the examiner concluded that Butler’s response was

indicative of deception. In the opinion of the examiner, however, Butler truthfully

3
The eleven questions were: 1) Did you actually witness that shooting? (Answer – yes);
2) On, or about, October 16, 1986 did you actually see Chris (sic) Maharaj shoot Derrick Moo
Young? (Answer – yes); 3) On October 16th did you have knowledge that Maharij (sic) had a
gun in his possession before Derrick Moo Young entered the room? (Answer – No); 4) On
October 16th did you have actual knowledge that Moo Young was going to be shot before it
happened? (Answer – No); 5) On October 16, did you have a gun or any other weapon in your
possession at any time before Derrick Moo Young was shot? (Answer – No); 6) To the best of
your ability have you now told the complete truth regarding the shooting incident on October 16,
1986? (Answer –Yes); 7) Did Maharaj ask you to arrange a meeting between himself and
Derrick Moo Young? (Answer – Yes); 8) On October 16, 1986 did you personally arrange the
meeting between Derrick Moo Young and Chris (sic) Maharaj? (Answer – Yes); 9) Other than
what you have explained was anyone else present when the Moo Youngs were shot? (Answer –
No); 10) Did you actually remain in a car with Maharaj after the shooting for at least two and a
half hours? (Answer – Yes); 11) Was illegal drug transactions to be discussed at the meeting
between Maharaj and Derrick Moo Young? (Answer – No).

31
answered each question that related to the actual events that occurred in the hotel

room during the confrontation between Maharaj and the Moo Youngs and to the

actual shootings.

The State did not produce the examiner’s opinion to Maharaj. It did,

however, send a letter to the defendant before trial that stated:

As you are aware, the State’s eyewitness to this homicide, Neville
Butler, has been polygraphed with reference to his knowledge of what
transpired in the Dupont Plaza Hotel, room number 1215, on October
16, 1986. As I indicated to you previously, he passed with regard to
the questions asked of him as to your client being the shooter in this
matter as well as he not being armed or participating in the shootings
of the Moo Youngs. However, questioning of Mr. Butler, prior to his
polygraph examination and subsequent thereto, has resulted in my
obligation under Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.220, to inform
you that Mr. Butler had some material corrections and additions to
make to the deposition testimony he has previously rendered to you.
Therefore, please consider this letter as compliance with my
obligation for continuing discovery and an invitation to you to
redepose Mr. Butler at your convenience regarding events which
occurred prior to the homicide as well as post-homicide.

Counsel for Maharaj did redepose Butler, at which time Butler admitted that

he lied to police when he gave an initial statement and lied in his first deposition.

Essentially, Butler conceded that he lied to police about his role in setting up the

murders and about events that happened after the murders in an attempt to lessen

his own involvement. Butler did not want to admit to police that he arranged for

the meeting between Maharaj and the Moo Youngs at the Dupont Plaza Hotel, so

32
he originally lead the police to believe that Maharaj unexpectedly arrived at the

hotel room. In fact, counsel for Maharaj cross-examined Butler extensively at trial

on this point, and got him to admit on numerous occasions that he had repeatedly

lied under oath in the course of this case. However, Butler’s testimony describing

the actual events that occurred in the hotel room - - that portion of the story

beginning when Maharaj walked into the room and ending when Maharaj and

Butler exited to the elevator - - remained consistent from his very first statement to

the police through his testimony at trial.

Petitioner contends, nevertheless, that he should have been given the

examiner’s opinion. He asserted this claim on direct appeal and throughout the

post-conviction proceedings. Maharaj does not argue that he was prevented at trial

from introducing the examiner’s opinion; indeed, Florida law prohibits the

introduction of polygraph results absent the consent of both parties, see Walsh v.

State, 418 So. 2d 1000, 1002 (Fla. 1982), and the trial judge in this case

specifically prohibited the witness from making any mention of the polygraph in

the course of his testimony. Instead, Maharaj suggests that if he had known about

the results of the test, he could have impeached Butler concerning why he decided

to come clean and testify truthfully. Butler says he did so because his conscience

33
compelled him to tell the truth; Petitioner urges that it was because he was afraid of

taking a polygraph test or because he knew he had failed the polygraph test.

On collateral review of the murder conviction, the Florida Supreme Court

correctly recited the three components of a Brady violation as set forth by the

Supreme Court in Strickler. Maharaj III, 778 So. 2d at 953. It then found that

there was no Brady violation because the defense had knowledge of the polygraph

results and because Butler had not actually “failed” the test.

As for the finding that the defense had knowledge of the polygraph results,

the district court noted that there was substantial evidence in the post-conviction

record to indicate that the defense was not aware of the fact that Butler’s answer to

one of the questions was indicative of deception. But, the district court observed

that even if it were to disagree with the Florida Supreme Court’s conclusion, the

state high court’s finding was not an unreasonable one.

We agree. Initially, we note that the Florida Supreme Court did not apply a

rule that contradicts governing Supreme Court case law. Moreover, we can find no

Supreme Court case whose facts could be considered “materially

indistinguishable.” Thus, the Florida Supreme Court’s decision was not “contrary

to” clearly established federal law. Furthermore, the Florida Supreme Court’s

decision was not an “unreasonable application” of clearly established federal law.

34
Although there is no evidence to indicate that the State actually provided Petitioner

with a copy of the examiner’s opinion, it did inform Petitioner that the test

occurred, that Butler truthfully answered the questions concerning the events in the

hotel room, including the circumstances surrounding the shooting, that Butler had

“material corrections and additions” to make to his previous deposition testimony,

and that defense counsel might want to redepose Butler regarding events that

occurred before and after the homicide. Defense counsel was free to ask Butler

why he changed his story and to vigorously cross-examine him concerning the

inconsistencies. The Florida Supreme Court’s analysis under Brady was neither

contrary to nor an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law.

Maharaj suggests, however, that he did not want the polygraph results so

that he could publish the results to the jury. Rather, he claims the results support

his theory that Butler changed his story when he was summoned to face a lie

detector test, and that he only changed his story when caught lying by the

polygrapher. When viewed in this light, Petitioner’s claim must also be analyzed

as a potential Giglio error, a type of Brady violation that occurs when “the

undisclosed evidence demonstrates that the prosecution’s case included perjured

testimony and that the prosecution knew, or should have known, of the perjury.”

35
United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 103, 96 S. Ct. 2392, 2397, 49 L. Ed. 2d 342

(1976).

“In order to prevail on a Giglio claim, a petitioner must establish that the

prosecutor knowingly used perjured testimony, or failed to correct what he

subsequently learned was false testimony, and that the falsehood was material.”

Tompkins v. Moore, 193 F.3d 1327, 1339 (11th Cir. 1999) (internal quotation

marks and citation omitted) (emphasis added). The Florida Supreme Court

correctly noted this standard, Maharaj III, 778 So. 2d at 956, and went on to reject

Petitioner’s claim “because the defendant has failed to demonstrate that the

statement was false or that the statement was material.” Id. at 957.

In explaining why Butler’s testimony was not false, the Florida Supreme

Court said:

While the statement concerning an act of conscience may not be
entirely true, there has been no showing that it was entirely false. The
prosecutors testified at the evidentiary hearing that Butler voluntarily
appeared at their office after being told that the State wanted to
question him about some of his testimony. He was not given
immunity and changes were made to the testimony prior to the
polygraph. Neither prosecutor indicated that Butler changed any
testimony as a result of the polygraph examination. The State opined
Butler may have considered his change of testimony voluntary
because he voluntarily appeared for further questioning.

Based on this record, the State did not suborn perjury.

Id.

36
 Again, we can find no Supreme Court case with materially indistinguishable

facts. See Ventura v. Attorney Gen., 419 F.3d 1269, 1281 (11th Cir. 2005) (noting

that a Giglio analysis is a “highly fact-dependent inquiry”). Moreover, the Florida

Supreme Court did not apply a rule that contradicts Supreme Court case law. The

state court decision was not “contrary to” clearly established federal law on this

point either. As for the application of that correctly-stated law, we have little

difficulty concluding that it was reasonable for the Florida Supreme Court to find

that Maharaj failed to establish that Butler’s trial testimony was false. At trial,

Butler testified in these terms:

Q: How is it that you decided to tell the truth about your own
involvement in early March of 1987?

A: My consideration was the main factor is that I felt I was holding
back when I shouldn’t be and I remember that I called to come down
to speak with your office and before I was able to start telling you,
you started telling me that I had to ask for an appointment and then I
came to tell you and as it happened, you started to question me and
tell me that I had lied and I just told you the whole story, it was my
consideration and you all persisted with your inquiry.

...

Q (On Cross-Examination): But it doesn’t bother you to lie after
having been sworn under oath to tell the truth, that’s correct, right?

A: I explained earlier last week the circumstances under which I felt I
was protecting myself and the reasons for the things I said and I
voluntarily agreed to correct the wrongs I had - - statements I had

37
 made when I approached the District Attorney, State Attorney and
told him about it.

There is nothing to indicate the reasons offered for Butler’s decision to come clean

were other than what he said at trial. Petitioner’s belief that the decision to tell the

truth was based on a fear of the lie detector test or perhaps fear of the results of that

test is speculative. In the Giglio context, the suggestion that a statement may have

been false is simply insufficient; the defendant must conclusively show that the

statement was actually false. See Moon v. Head, 285 F.3d 1301, 1315 (11th Cir.

2002); Brown v. Head, 272 F.3d 1308, 1317-18 (11th Cir. 2001). The Florida

Supreme Court’s determination that Butler’s stated reason for changing his

testimony was not false was neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of

clearly established federal law.

Moreover, the Florida Supreme Court determined that the statement was not

material, finding that the failure to clarify Butler’s reason for the change of

testimony would not have affected the jury’s verdict. See Maharaj III, 778 So. 2d

at 957. The district court agreed, finding that

[i]n this instance, there is no reasonable likelihood that the revelation
that Butler’s change in testimony may not have been based entirely on
his own initiative would have affected the judgment of the jury. The
important aspect of the change in story was that Butler had shown that
he was willing to lie under oath, that he had lied because of concern
regarding how his involvement would be regarded by the prosecutors,
and that he had told inconsistent stories at various times. That is, it

38
 was primarily Butler’s change in testimony, rather than the impetus
for the change, that would have been important to the jury, and this
was all effectively brought out in cross-examination and closing
arguments. Moreover, if he did in fact change his story only because
of the polygraph examination, that jury never would have learned this,
since the judge had specifically warned Butler against mentioning the
polygraph exam during his testimony.

We agree with the Florida Supreme Court and the district court that, even if

Maharaj had established that Butler’s testimony was false (which he did not), the

falsehood was not material. Butler was thoroughly and vigorously cross-examined

about the inconsistencies in his accounts, and Maharaj’s counsel elicited testimony

from Butler that he had lied under oath. Moreover, Maharaj’s trial counsel was not

prevented from asking Butler why he changed his story; indeed, he asked him that

very question in the second deposition. There is no reasonable likelihood that the

revelation that Butler’s change in testimony may not have been based entirely on

his own initiative could have affected the judgment of the jury. See Ventura, 419

F.3d at 1277-78 (noting that a statement is material under Giglio if there is any

reasonable likelihood that the false testimony could have affected the judgment of

the jury). The Florida Supreme Court’s resolution of Maharaj’s claims concerning

the polygraph report, under both Brady and Giglio, was neither contrary to nor an

unreasonable application of clearly established federal law.

39
B. The Moo Youngs’ Briefcase

Maharaj next claims that the state prosecutors violated Brady when they

failed to turn over the contents of a briefcase, containing passports and various

documents, that the Moo Youngs brought with them to the Dupont Plaza Hotel.

The briefcase was taken by the police as evidence and subsequently returned to the

victims’ family. An investigator working for Petitioner’s trial counsel

subsequently asked the police to produce the briefcase and its contents. The police

responded that they no longer had the briefcase and informed the investigator that

it had been returned to the Moo Young family. Petitioner contends that the items

contained in the Moo Youngs’ briefcase should have been turned over as Brady

material.

The state post-conviction trial court described the contents of the briefcase

as passports for both Duane and Derrick Moo Young, showing travel to Panama,

Jamaica, and other countries, international letters of credit, appointments,

insurance policies on the victims, and other documents that might suggest the

victims may have been involved in transactions involving very large sums of

money, and, potentially fraudulent activities. Petitioner contends that these

passports and documents would have led to other evidence, which in turn may have

40
shown that the Moo Youngs were killed by a Colombian cartel for trying to siphon

millions of dollars while laundering drug money around the Caribbean.

The state post-conviction trial court rejected this claim, finding that there

was no Brady violation for two independent reasons: first, the briefcase and its

documents were not suppressed by the State because Petitioner knew of their

existence and had the power to compel their return from the Moo Young family by

subpoena, and, second, the information was not material. The Florida Supreme

Court affirmed on those same grounds. We agree.

Again, the Florida Supreme Court correctly articulated the Brady standard.

The trial court did likewise, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Kyles. In this

case, the defense was plainly aware that the Moo Youngs left a briefcase at the

crime scene; an investigator working for Petitioner’s counsel approached the police

and asked them for it. The officer explained, however, that the briefcase had been

returned to the victims’ family. At that time, Petitioner knew of the briefcase and

knew how he could obtain it. The police could not give it to him because they no

longer had it.

Our case law is clear that “[w]here defendants, prior to trial, had within their

knowledge the information by which they could have ascertained the alleged Brady

material, there is no suppression by the government.” United States v. Griggs, 713

41
F.2d 672, 674 (11th Cir. 1983); accord LeCroy, 421 F.3d at 1268 (noting that there

was no Brady violation because the defendant could have obtained the information

had he used “reasonable diligence”); Haliburton v. Sec’y for Dep’t of Corr., 342

F.3d 1233, 1239 (11th Cir. 2003); United States v. Valera, 845 F.2d 923, 927-28

(11th Cir. 1988); United States v. Cortez, 757 F.2d 1204, 1208 (11th Cir. 1985).

The evidence was not suppressed by the state.4

Moreover, we agree with the state court that neither the briefcase nor its

contents were material. In describing why the briefcase documents were not

material, the state post-conviction trial court observed that the documents would

not have impeached the star witness, Neville Butler, nor refuted testimonial

evidence taken from the hotel employees, the fingerprint evidence tying Maharaj to

the hotel room, or the ballistics evidence regarding Maharaj’s gun. The state court

not only found that there was no reasonable probability the proceedings would

4
Nor is this case at all like the Supreme Court’s decision in Banks v. Dretke, 540 U.S.
668, 124 S. Ct. 1256, 157 L. Ed. 2d 1166 (2004), where the Court cautioned that “[a] rule . . .
declaring ‘prosecutor may hide, defendant must seek,’ is not tenable in a system constitutionally
bound to accord defendants due process.” Id. at 696, 124 S. Ct. at 1275. In Banks, the
prosecutors failed to disclose that a key witness was a paid police informant, and stood by as that
witness affirmatively testified to the contrary. The Court rejected the State’s argument that the
defendant could have more diligently pursued the police officer involved, and in doing so might
have discovered the witness’ status. The Court summarized the State’s argument as one where
“‘the prosecution can lie and conceal and the prisoner still has the burden to . . . discover the
evidence.’” Id. (citing the oral argument transcript) (alteration in original). In contrast, in this
case, the prosecution did not physically possess the documents Petitioner sought, and it made no
false or misleading statements regarding what that evidence might show or where it might be
found. Indeed, the police unambiguously directed the investigator to where he might obtain the
evidence. When the defendant has “equal access” to the evidence disclosure is not required.

42
have been different if the evidence had been disclosed, but went so far as to say

that disclosure would not have resulted in a markedly weaker case for the

prosecution or a markedly stronger one for the defendant.

The Florida courts’ application of the Brady rule was reasonable here too.

In deciding whether evidence was material for the purposes of a Brady violation,

the question is not whether the conviction was “more likely” because the evidence

was introduced or even whether the evidence “might have changed the outcome of

the trial.” Strickler, 527 U.S. at 289, 119 S. Ct. at 1952. Rather, Petitioner “must

convince us that ‘there is a reasonable probability’ that the result of the trial would

have been different if the suppressed documents had been disclosed to the

defense.” Id. The word “reasonable” “is important. The question is not whether

the defendant would more likely than not have received a different verdict with the

evidence, but whether in its absence he received a fair trial, understood as a trial

resulting in a verdict worthy of confidence.” Kyles, 514 U.S. at 434, 115 S. Ct. at

1566.5

5
The Supreme Court’s decision in Strickler is instructive. In Strickler, the documents
withheld consisted of police interview notes and correspondence between detectives and the
state’s primary trial witness. The Court held that the documents were not material, finding that
the defendant would have been convicted and sentenced to death even if the testifying witness
had been severely impeached. Strickler, 527 U.S. at 294, 119 S. Ct. at 1954. Here, the contents
of the briefcase are not nearly as informative or exculpatory as the documents in Strickler.

43
 We agree with the state post-conviction trial court that the briefcase

documents neither impeached Butler’s testimony nor called into question any of

the physical evidence recovered from the crime scene. At most, they arguably cast

the victims in a negative light and raise the bare possibility that the Moo Youngs

may have been involved in some arguably unsavory activities with other

individuals who may have had reason to do them harm. This highly speculative

chain falls far short of even that quantum of evidence rejected as being insufficient

by the Strickler Court, and, at all events, does not establish a reasonable probability

that the result of the trial would have been different if the documents had not been

suppressed. See Crawford v. Head, 311 F.3d 1288, 1330-31 (11th Cir. 2002)

(rejecting an argument similar to the one Petitioner makes here, finding that a

police report detailing clothing found at a crime scene was not material, despite the

fact that the report could theoretically give rise to the theory that other potential

suspects should have been more thoroughly investigated).

The Florida courts’ twin conclusions that the briefcase contents were not

suppressed by the state and were not material under Brady were reasonable, and

were neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of clearly established

federal law. Maharaj is entitled to no relief on this claim.

44
C. The Moo Youngs’ Life Insurance Policies

Finally, Maharaj alleges that the State withheld evidence the Moo Youngs

had recently purchased large life insurance policies. The Florida Supreme Court

found, however, that the policies, which were taken out several months before the

murders, were not exculpatory because “there has been no showing that this

evidence tends to negate the conviction or the sentence,” and “[m]ore importantly,”

that the disclosure of the policies would not have put the case in so different a light

as to undermine confidence in the verdict. Maharaj III, 778 So. 2d at 953-54. The

district court agreed, concluding that the evidence was not exculpatory, that any

arguments based on that evidence (or other evidence that may have been

discovered as a result of knowing about the policies) was too speculative to have

altered the outcome, and that it could not have been used to impeach the State’s

primary witnesses.

Our analysis concerning the life insurance policies is similar to the one that

governed the contents of the Moo Youngs’ briefcase. Maharaj’s argument, that the

Moo Youngs were involved in shady dealings to the point that they were

concerned about their own well-being, and, therefore, executed substantial life

insurance policies, is even more speculative than his argument concerning the other

contents of the briefcase. The existence of the insurance policies in no way refutes

45
any of the physical evidence and does not impeach any of the State’s witnesses.

The Florida Supreme Court’s resolution of this Brady claim was altogether

reasonable.

The state post-conviction trial court also considered the cumulative effect of

the evidence, and found that there was no reasonable probability that had the

evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceedings would have

been different. The district court agreed and so do we.

We have carefully reviewed the Brady items and readily conclude that there

is no reasonable probability, had all of the items been disclosed to the defense, the

result of the proceedings would have been any different. There was ample

evidence of motive, and significant physical evidence tying Petitioner to the room

where the murders occurred. The State’s eyewitness, Neville Butler, never

wavered as to the most important part of his testimony, describing Maharaj’s brutal

attacks on the Moo Youngs, and that testimony was corroborated by physical and

ballistic evidence. None of the alleged Brady items calls into question that portion

of Butler’s testimony, and none refutes any of the physical evidence. Moreover,

Neville Butler was significantly impeached by Petitioner’s trial counsel, who

extracted numerous admissions from Butler concerning the lies he told at various

points throughout this case. Again, the Florida courts’ disposition of this claim

46
was neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of clearly established

federal law.

VI.

Maharaj did not testify at trial. Nevertheless, he argues that this decision

was based at least in part on the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. At the state

post-conviction hearing, trial counsel testified that he met with Maharaj on a daily

basis to discuss strategy, and specifically, the pros and cons of whether Maharaj

should testify in his own defense. Trial counsel fully explained to Petitioner his

right to testify, and expressed his own opinion that Maharaj should forgo that right.

Trial counsel plainly told Maharaj that if he testified, he would be subject to

extensive cross-examination concerning the newspaper articles published by Mr.

Carberry, which contained various allegations about Maharaj, including those

underlying his dispute with the Moo Youngs. Specifically, trial counsel testified

that “I advised [Maharaj] that in my opinion he should not testify, that it would

only allow the state to argue the innuendo and speculation and I felt it was in his

best interest not to take the stand.”

At the time trial counsel advised Petitioner, he was under the impression that

Maharaj had two outstanding warrants in Great Britain, both of which were

47
allegedly mentioned in newspaper articles. It now appears that the warrants had

been resolved at the time trial counsel provided his advice. Maharaj says that trial

counsel was ineffective in failing to discover that the warrants had been resolved

and that he would have testified had he been provided with competent advice.

The standards for ineffective assistance of counsel are well-established, and

were correctly noted by the Florida courts. In Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S.

668, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984), the Supreme Court established that

to prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must

demonstrate both that counsel’s performance was deficient and that the deficient

performance prejudiced the defense. Id. at 687, 104 S. Ct. at 2064. As for the

deficiency prong, a petitioner must demonstrate that counsel’s performance “fell

below an objective standard of reasonableness.” Id. at 688, 104 S. Ct. at 2064. A

reviewing court “must indulge a strong presumption that counsel’s conduct falls

within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance; that is, the defendant

must overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the challenged

action ‘might be considered sound trial strategy.’” Id. at 689, 104 S. Ct. at 2065

(internal quotation marks and citation omitted). And, to satisfy the prejudice

prong, the defendant must demonstrate that “there is a reasonable probability that,

48
but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have

been different.” Id. at 694, 104 S. Ct. at 2068.

The Florida Supreme Court found that Petitioner failed to establish either

deficiency or prejudice. The court noted as significant that Maharaj did not testify

at the state post-conviction hearing, and, therefore, presented no testimony

showing that the articles were false or why that fact would have changed his

decision. “More importantly, even assuming the falsity of the articles, Maharaj

does not negate the fact that he would have been cross-examined on whether the

articles made him angry, which is the reason they were relevant.” Maharaj III, 778

So. 2d at 958.

As the district court observed, the Florida Supreme Court’s decision was

based on its finding that even if the warrants were not outstanding and the

newspaper articles were false, trial counsel’s main concern was that Petitioner

would be extensively cross-examined about how the articles made him feel and

how they may have given him reason to dislike the Moo Youngs. This conclusion

is amply supported by trial counsel’s testimony at the post-conviction hearing, and

is left wholly unrefuted.

In undertaking this analysis, the Florida Supreme Court did not apply a rule

that contradicts Supreme Court case law, nor did it arrive at a result contrary to one

49
reached by the Supreme Court in a case with materially indistinguishable facts.

Additionally, the state court’s application of that correctly-stated law was

altogether reasonable. See Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 185-86, 106 S.

Ct. 2464, 2474, 91 L. Ed. 2d 144 (1986) (holding that because there were “several

reasons” why counsel might have made a particular decision, petitioner had failed

to overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the challenged action

might be considered sound trial strategy). The tactical decision to advise petitioner

against testifying because of the dangerous cross-examination that could ensue was

utterly unaffected by the truth or falsity of the articles and cannot be a sound basis

for a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. See McNeal v. Wainwright, 722

F.2d 674, 676 (11th Cir. 1984) (noting that “[c]ounsel will not be deemed

unconstitutionally deficient because of tactical decisions”). Maharaj has failed to

show that “no competent counsel would have taken the action that his counsel did

take,” Chandler v. United States, 218 F.3d 1305, 1315 (11th Cir. 2000) (en banc).

There is little discussion in the Florida Supreme Court’s decision concerning

prejudice, and we need not reach that issue here, since Petitioner’s claim must fail

if either of the Strickland prongs are not met. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 697, 104

S. Ct. at 2069; Turner v. Crosby, 339 F.3d 1247, 1279 (11th Cir. 2003).

50
 VII.

Finally, Maharaj contends that his rights were violated when he was not

informed after his arrest that he had the right to contact the British consulate

pursuant to the Vienna Convention and the United Kingdom Bilateral Consular

Treaty, June 6, 1951, 3 U.S.T. 3426 (“The Bilateral Treaty”).6 The Florida

Supreme Court found that Petitioner was procedurally barred from raising this

claim in collateral proceedings because he had failed to raise it on direct appeal. In

the district court, Petitioner argued that the Florida Supreme Court erred in

resolving the claim on procedural default grounds, citing a case from the I.C.J.,

LaGrand Case (Germany v. United States), 40 I.L.M. 1069 (I.C.J. June 27, 2001).7

The district court found that although the Florida court did not directly cite Breard,

it correctly followed the Supreme Court’s directive in that case.

6
Petitioner treats the two treaties identically. In his brief, he indicates that any reference
to the Vienna Convention should be treated as a reference to both. In an amicus brief, the
Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland presents discussion of
only The Bilateral Treaty. However, it cites no cases with any substantive discussion of the
Bilateral Treaty; the only cases cited with a substantive discussion of either refer to only the
Vienna Convention. Neither the Florida Supreme Court nor the district court differentiated
between the two. And, we have been unable to locate any case law comparing the two treaties.
Accordingly, we assume, without deciding, that the two treaties should be treated in a similar
fashion.
7
Avena was not decided until after Petitioner had completed his briefing in the district
court. Thus, although it was not cited in Petitioner’s filings, it was referenced in the district
court’s order.

51
 Maharaj makes similar arguments on appeal: that the I.C.J. is the “ultimate

arbiter” of disputes under the Vienna Convention, and that the Florida Supreme

Court’s decision is contrary to Avena and LaGrand, both of which he describes as

“controlling” authority. We remain unpersuaded.

In the first place, the Florida Supreme Court’s decision is not contrary to

clearly established federal law; that court did not arrive at a result different from

one reached by the Supreme Court in a case with materially indistinguishable facts,

and it did not apply a rule that contradicts governing Supreme Court precedent.

Indeed, the decision is completely consonant with the Supreme Court’s decision in

Breard, where, as we have noted already, the Supreme Court clearly held that a

petitioner who had failed to raise his Vienna Convention claim in state post-

conviction proceedings was barred from doing so in federal court. Breard, 523 U.S.

at 375, 118 S. Ct. at 1354 (rejecting the argument that the Vienna Convention is the

“supreme law of the land,” and therefore trumps procedural bars, as “plainly

incorrect”).

Breard did not involve an identical fact pattern to the case at bar. In Breard,

the defendant raised the Vienna Convention claim for the first time in federal court,

having failed to do so at trial or before the state post-conviction court. Here,

Petitioner brought his claim for the first time before the state post-conviction court,

52
having failed to do so before the state trial court. There is nothing in Breard,

however, to suggest that the timing of the procedural default has any significance.

The Court’s holding that a Vienna Convention claim must be raised in conformity

with both the laws of the United States and the laws of the state of conviction, see

id., means that a procedural bar can apply no matter when that bar occurred.

Petitioner directs us to the cases of Avena and LaGrand, where the I.C.J.

held that it was error to dispose of a claim under the Vienna Convention by use of

a procedural bar. Petitioner cites no authority, however, for the proposition that

precedent from the I.C.J. is binding upon this or any other state or federal court in

the United States. Unsurprisingly, we were unable to find any controlling case law

permitting us to ignore the rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States in

favor of one from an international tribunal. Because Petitioner failed to raise his

claim in conformity with the laws of the State of Florida, the Florida Supreme

Court did not arrive at a result contrary to Supreme Court precedent. For similar

reasons, the Florida Supreme Court’s decision was not an unreasonable application

of clearly established federal law.8

8
The Florida Supreme Court did not specifically cite Breard. However, a state court need
not cite to, nor even be aware of Supreme Court cases, “so long as neither the reasoning nor the
result of the state-court decision contradicts them.” Early v. Packer, 537 U.S. 3, 8, 123 S. Ct.
362, 365, 154 L. Ed. 2d 263 (2002).

53
 VIII.

The district court’s COA was limited to six issues, and we decline

petitioner’s invitation to consider any others. Moreover, there is no reasonable

probability that Petitioner’s newly filed state action will resolve or moot the issues

pending before us, and we deny his request for a stay. As for the merits of

Petitioner’s claims, the Florida Supreme Court’s decision was neither contrary to

nor an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law, and, therefore,

we affirm in all respects the decision of the district court.

AFFIRMED.

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