Appellate Case: 22-1194 Document: 010111100217 Date Filed: 08/26/2024 Page: 1
FILED
United States Court of Appeals
PUBLISH Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS August 26, 2024
Christopher M. Wolpert
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
_________________________________
OMAR RICARDO GODINEZ,
Petitioner - Appellant,
No. 22-1194
v.
DEAN WILLIAMS, Executive Director,
Colorado Department of Correction;
TERRY JAQUES, Warden, Limon
Correctional Facility; PHIL WEISER,
Attorney General, State of Colorado,
Respondents - Appellees.
_________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Colorado
(D.C. No. 1:21-CV-00695-RBJ)
_________________________________
Jonathan D. Reppucci, Reppucci Law Firm, P.C., Denver, Colorado, for PetitionerAppellant.
John T. Lee, First Assistant Attorney General (Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, and
Lane Towery, Assistant Attorney General Fellow, with him on the briefs), Colorado
Department of Law, Denver, Colorado, for Respondents-Appellees.
_________________________________
Before TYMKOVICH, McHUGH, and MORITZ, Circuit Judges.
_________________________________
TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge.
_________________________________
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Omar Godinez is serving a sentence of 32 years to life in Colorado state prison
for kidnapping two victims and sexually assaulting them. He was a minor at the time
of his conviction. After exhausting state appeals, he sought habeas relief in federal
court, challenging the constitutionality of his sentence. The district court denied
relief. Relying on Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010), he claims that his
sentence is unconstitutional because it violates the Eighth Amendment’s
proscriptions against unreasonable sentences for minors. In Graham, the Supreme
Court interpreted the Eighth Amendment to prohibit non-homicide minor offenders
from receiving a sentence of life imprisonment without a meaningful opportunity for
parole based on maturity and rehabilitation.
Although he is not eligible for parole until 2034, Godinez argues that his
sentence, governed by Colorado’s Sex Offender Lifetime Supervision Act (SOLSA),
is unconstitutional because the statute will not permit the Colorado Parole Board to
consider his maturity and rehabilitation when he is eligible. We certified a question
to the Colorado Supreme Court to help us evaluate Godinez’s challenge to the statute.
That Court concluded that SOLSA (1) permits consideration of maturity, and (2)
requires consideration of rehabilitation. Godinez v. Williams, 544 P.3d 1233, 1235
(Colo. 2024).
We deny Godinez’s petition for habeas relief. He cannot show that the
Colorado courts unreasonably applied federal law in imposing his sentence. Those
courts concluded that when Godinez is eligible for parole, the parole board can
consider his maturity and rehabilitation. Moreover, if the state parole board fails to
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adhere to constitutional requirements set forth in Graham when Godinez is eligible
for parole, he can assert any constitutional challenges to the parole board’s evaluation
of his parole eligibility. Until then, his challenge is not ripe for adjudication.
I. Background
When Godinez was 15 years old, he and three accomplices kidnapped and
raped two victims within a week, at least one of whom was a minor. In each
instance, Godinez and his accomplices approached the victim from behind, forced her
into the back seat of Godinez’s father’s car, drove her to Godinez’s house, and took
turns raping her in a dark room. A jury found Godinez guilty of two counts of
second-degree kidnapping, two counts of sexual assault, and two counts of
conspiracy to commit sexual assault. A trial court sentenced him to 32 years to life
in prison. Under Colorado law, Godinez will be eligible for parole in 2034, when he
turns 38. People v. Godinez, No. 2011CR2537 at *2 (Dist. Ct., Arapahoe Cnty.,
March 21, 2014).
II. Analysis
Godinez challenges the constitutionality of his sentence under SOLSA’s
statutory scheme. In short, he contends that it violates the Eighth Amendment’s cruel
and unusual punishment clause because the sentence is inconsistent with Graham v.
Florida, 560 U.S. at 75. According to Godinez, Graham entitles him to a statutory
guarantee that the parole board will consider his maturity and rehabilitation in 2034.
And since the Colorado Supreme Court’s answer to our certified question interprets
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SOLSA as merely allowing—not mandating—the consideration of maturity, that is
inadequate. He requests we grant habeas relief and order the state court to resentence
him consistent with Graham.
As we explain, the parole board’s ability to consider Godinez’s maturity and
rehabilitation when he is eligible for parole is sufficient to meet Graham’s
requirements. At this stage, no constitutional violation has occurred to justify habeas
relief.
A. Legal and Procedural Background
In Graham v. Florida, the Supreme Court concluded that the Eighth
Amendment “prohibits the imposition of a life without parole sentence on a juvenile
offender who did not commit homicide.” 560 U.S. at 82. In that case, a Florida court
sentenced a 17-year-old to life in prison without possibility of parole for armed
burglary.
Id. at 57. The Supreme Court overturned the sentence, concluding that it
violated the Eighth Amendment. The Court explained that under the Eighth
Amendment a “State is not required to guarantee eventual freedom to a juvenile
offender convicted of a nonhomicide crime. What the State must do, however, is
give defendants . . . some meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on
demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation.”
Id. at 75.
Godinez was sentenced to 32 years to life, and the earliest he can be
considered for parole is 2034. SOLSA requires sex offenders to undergo treatment
during their incarceration. C.R.S. §§ 18-1.3-1004(1)(a) and (3). Once Godinez
completes the minimum period of incarceration specified in his sentence, a parole
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board “shall determine whether [he] has [1] successfully progressed in treatment and
[2] would not pose an undue threat to the community if released under appropriate
treatment and monitoring requirements and [3] whether there is a strong and
reasonable probability that [he] will not thereafter violate the law.” C.R.S. § 18-1.3-
1006(1)(a). If the parole board does not release Godinez, he will remain in custody,
but the board must review its decision periodically. C.R.S. § 18-1.3-1006(1)(c)
(requiring the parole board to reconvene at prescribed intervals if it does not grant
parole).
In sum, SOLSA provides sex offenders an opportunity for parole based on
successful progression in treatment, degree of threat to the community, and
likelihood of recidivism. C.R.S. § 18-1.3-1006(1)(a).
At sentencing, the state trial court rejected Godinez’s interpretation of Graham
and SOLSA. It concluded that the SOLSA factors are non-exclusive and that “given
the Supreme Court’s mandate in Graham that such factors must be considered for a
juvenile convicted of a sexual offense, the Court must presume that the Parole Board
will comply with the Supreme Court’s directive.” Godinez, No. 2011CR2537 at *18.
The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed his sentence but on different grounds.
People v. Godinez, 457 P.3d 77, 95 (Colo. App. 2018) (holding that Godinez’s
sentence did not violate Graham because he was sentenced for multiple crimes,
rather than a single crime). The Colorado Supreme Court denied certiorari. Godinez
v. People,
2019 WL 6701589 (Colo. December 9, 2019).
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Having exhausted his state appeals, Godinez sought habeas corpus relief in the
District of Colorado, contending that his sentence violates Graham. The district
court denied his petition, concluding that the Colorado sentencing scheme would
allow him a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate maturity and rehabilitation at
future parole proceedings. Order at 24-25.
Given the uncertainty as to how SOLSA might apply to minors convicted of
sex offenses, we asked the Colorado Supreme Court after oral argument to determine
whether SOLSA “requires, permits, or prohibits parole boards from considering
maturity and rehabilitation.” The Colorado Supreme Court concluded that SOLSA
(1) permits consideration of maturity and (2) requires consideration of rehabilitation.
Godinez, 544 P.3d at 1235. It reasoned that “maturity cannot be measured by
reference to one or two isolated characteristics,” so SOLSA’s list of mandatory
factors did not encompass that characteristic. Id. at 1240. Since the court found that
SOLSA’s list of factors was non-exclusive, id. at 1239, the parole board was
permitted to consider maturity. In contrast, the court concluded that “sex offender
programs are rehabilitative by design because the purpose of requiring sex offenders
to undergo treatment is precisely to rehabilitate them.” Id. at 1241. Thus, “SOLSA’s
three enumerated factors require parole boards to consider rehabilitation.” Id.
B. Standards for Habeas Relief
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) requires
federal courts to “entertain an application for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of a
person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a state court only on the ground that he
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is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.”
28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). Under AEDPA, we review the state court’s decision to
determine whether it “(1) resulted in a decision that 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) “resulted in a decision that 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).
We consider “not whether a federal court believes the state court’s
determination was incorrect, but whether that determination was unreasonable—a
substantially higher threshold for a prisoner to meet.” Shoop v. Twyford, 596 U.S.
811, 819 (2022). “These restrictions on relief spring from Congress’s recognition of
a ‘foundational principle of our federal system: State courts are adequate forums for
the vindication of federal rights.’” Meek v. Martin,
74 F.4th 1223, 1248 (10th Cir.
2023) (citing Burt v. Titlow,
571 U.S. 12, 19 (2013)). “And because state courts are
‘presumptively competent . . . to adjudicate claims arising under’ federal law,
deference and reasonableness are our watchwords as we review their rulings.”
Id.
(internal citation omitted) (citing Tafflin v. Levitt,
493 U.S. 455, 458 (1990)). “We
review de novo the district court’s decision denying habeas relief.” Cortez-Lazcano
v. Whitten,
81 F.4th 1074, 1082 (10th Cir. 2023).
To analyze a § 2254 claim, “we first determine whether the petitioner’s claim
is based on clearly established federal law, focusing exclusively on Supreme Court
decisions.” Tryon v. Quick, 81 F.4th 1110, 1140 (10th Cir. 2023). “We construe
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those holdings narrowly, and will not extract clearly established law from the general
legal principles developed in factually distinct contexts.” Meek, 74 F.4th at 1251
(internal quotation marks omitted). If the petitioner’s claim is based on clearly-
established law, “we consider whether the state court’s decision was contrary to or an
unreasonable application of that law.” Tryon, 81 F.4th at 1140.
We consider a state court decision to be “contrary to” clearly established law if
it “applies a rule that contradicts the governing law set forth in Supreme Court cases
or confronts a set of facts that are materially indistinguishable from a decision of the
Supreme Court and nevertheless arrives at a result different from that precedent.”
Cortez-Lazcano, 81 F.4th at 1082. We consider a state court decision to be an
“unreasonable application” of clearly established law if “the state court correctly
identifies the governing legal principle from our decisions but unreasonably applies
it to the facts of the particular case.” Drinkert v. Payne, 90 F.4th 1043, 1049 (10th
Cir. 2024). “[A] state court’s application of federal law is unreasonable only if every
fairminded jurist would reach a different conclusion.” Tryon, 81 F.4th at 1110. “Put
another way, a § 2254 petitioner must demonstrate that the state court’s rejection of
his claim was so lacking in justification that there was an error well understood and
comprehended in existing law beyond any possibility for fairminded disagreement.”
Id.
C. Application
Godinez bases his habeas petition on his right to “a meaningful opportunity to
obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation.” Graham, 560
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U.S. at 75. The state trial court concluded that although SOLSA does not specifically
list “maturity” and “rehabilitation” as factors relevant for parole, the sentencing
scheme does not violate the Eighth Amendment. It reasoned that “the Parole Board
is not restricted in its ability to consider the Graham factors” and “given the Supreme
Court’s mandate in Graham that such factors must be considered for a juvenile
convicted of a sexual offense, the Court must presume that the Parole Board will
comply with the Supreme Court’s directive.” Godinez, No. 2011CR2537 at *18. The
district court agreed with this analysis, concluding that Colorado offered Godinez a
meaningful opportunity to demonstrate his maturity and rehabilitation by undergoing
sex offender treatment. Order at 24-25.
The Colorado Supreme Court’s answer to our certified question agrees in
essential part. Echoing the trial court, it concluded that the parole board will be
allowed to consider Godinez’s maturity, and it went a step further in concluding that
it will be required to consider his rehabilitation. Godinez, 544 P.3d at 1235.
Consistent with these interpretations, the state trial court’s sentencing
withstands the “highly deferential” standard of review applicable in habeas cases.
See Cortez-Lazcano, 81 F.4th at 1082. The court’s holding was not “contrary to . . .
clearly established Federal law,” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), because it did not “appl[y]
a rule that contradicts the governing law set forth in Supreme Court cases [nor]
confront[] a set of facts that are materially indistinguishable from a decision of the
Supreme Court.” Cortez-Lazcano, 81 F.4th at 1082. The state court fairly
scrutinized Godinez’s Eighth Amendment rights under Graham and reached a
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conclusion not squarely foreclosed by Graham. It correctly noted that the parole
board would be permitted to consider the Graham factors, a conclusion that was
subsequently vindicated by the Colorado Supreme Court. And its conclusion that the
parole board’s ability to consider maturity and rehabilitation satisfied Godinez’s
rights under Graham was not “so lacking in justification that there was an error well
understood and comprehended in existing law beyond any possibility for fairminded
disagreement.” Tryon, 81 F.4th at 1110. In short, its holding did not “result[] in a
decision that 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).
We are unpersuaded by Godinez’s argument that the state trial court decision
was incorrect. According to Godinez, the parole board’s discretion to consider or not
to consider maturity is inadequate under Graham. He contends that SOLSA “gives
no effect to one of the two pillars of Graham’s substantive holding, rendering it a
nullity as applied to Godinez.” Aple. Supp. Br. at 4. The state court reasoned that
although the parole board has discretionary authority, it can be presumed to adhere to
the Supreme Court’s proscriptions. Godinez has offered no authorities to support his
proposition that states must legislatively mandate parole boards to comply with
Graham. Nor has he shown that the state court’s determination that the parole board
would adhere to Graham was unreasonable in light of the facts at its disposal.
Our decision does not preclude Godinez from filing at a later date a successive
habeas claim if the parole board, in defiance of the Supreme Court’s ruling in
Graham, refuses to consider his maturity and rehabilitation. The habeas statute
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permits petitioners to bring successive claims if there is a “factual predicate that
could not have been previously discovered through the exercise of due diligence.” 28
U.S.C. § 2254 (e)(2)(A)(ii). In this case, Godinez’s claim relies on conjecture about
the parole board’s future decision. As of now, no constitutional violation warranting
habeas relief has occurred, but an improper parole board evaluation could supply the
factual predicate for a future claim.
IV. Conclusion
The petition for habeas relief is denied.
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