Samuel vs. Warden Avoyelles, (5th Cir. 2002)

Docket Number: 02-30057

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* Pursuant to 5 TH C IR . R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5 TH C IR .

R. 47.5.4. IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 02-30057 Summary Calendar WILLIE SAMUEL Petitioner - Appellant v. WARDEN AVOYELLES CORRECTIONAL CENTER Respondent - Appellee Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 01-CV-467 September 30, 2002 Before KING, Chief Judge, and DeMOSS and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: * Willie Samuel, Louisiana prisoner # 233921, was convicted of distribution of crack cocaine and was sentenced as a habitual offender. Louisiana v. Samuel , No. 99-76, (La.

Ct. App.

June 2, 1999) (unpublished). Samuel filed an application for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in federal district court arguing, among other things, that he was entitled to federal habeas relief because his motions to recuse the trial judge had been denied. The basis for this argument is that the trial judge had been an Assistant District Attorney in Rapides Parish in 1988 when Samuel had been prosecuted for murder. Â“[T]he floor established by the Due Process Clause clearly requires a fair trial in a fair tribunal before a judge with no actual bias against the defendant or interest in the outcome of his particular case.Â” Bracy v. Gramley , 520 U.S. 899, 904-05 (1997). The state court of appeals rejected the bias argument on direct appeal because the case had been tried before a jury and there was no indication in the record of bias by the trial judge.

The district court denied relief because Samuel did not show that the state court§ 2254(d). Finding no error, we AFFIRM. Williams v. Taylor , 529 U.S. 362, 409 (2000). AFFIRMED.

No. 02-30057