On a separate page, Jackson had also recorded the notation “13801 ‘MAZDA’ 769GRY,” which matched Higgs's address number on Briarwood Drive in Laurel, Maryland, and the license tag number for Higgs's blue Mazda MPV van. Jackson's day planner was also found, in which she had written Higgs's nickname and telephone number. 38 caliber wad-cutter bullet was found at the scene. Chinn had been shot once in the back of her head. Jackson and Black had each been shot once in the chest and once in the back. The facts in this case have been well-documented in the two prior opinions of this court, from which we borrow heavily.Īt approximately 4:30 a.m., on January 27, 1996, Tanji Jackson, Tamika Black, and Mishann Chinn were found dead in a roadway in the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge in Prince George's County, Maryland. We granted a certificate of appealability to consider Higgs's claim that his constitutional rights to due process of law and effective assistance of counsel were violated by the introduction of Comparative Bullet Lead Analysis (“CBLA”) evidence at trial. § 2255, which was denied by the district court. Presently before us is Higgs's motion for relief under 28 U.S.C. Higgs also filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied by the district court and affirmed on appeal. We affirmed his convictions and sentences. § 1201(a)(2), arising out of the January 27, 1996, murders of three young women in the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge. § 1111(a), first-degree murder committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a kidnapping, see id., and kidnapping resulting in death, see 18 U.S.C. Petitioner Dustin John Higgs was convicted of three counts each of first-degree premeditated murder, see 18 U.S.C. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, Deborah Johnston, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee. Sachs, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. ON BRIEF:Leigh Skipper, Chief Federal Defender, Matthew Lawry, Michael Wiseman, Assistant Federal Defenders, Federal Community Defender Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Stephen H. Sandra Wilkinson, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee. Decided: November 23, 2011īefore TRAXLER, Chief Judge, and SHEDD and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.ĪRGUED:Angela Elleman, Federal Community Defender Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. United States Court of Appeals,Fourth Circuit.
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