Jordan v. Lizotte

── Jordan v. Lizotte ── Court: Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Date: June 05, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit No. 22-1666 DENNIS JORDAN, Petitioner, Appellant, v. KENNETH LIZOTTE, Respondent, Appellee. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS [Hon. Denise J. Casper, U.S. District Judge] Before Montecalvo, Lipez, and Kayatta, Circuit Judges. Benjamin Brooks, with whom Good Schneider Cormier Fried & Brooks was on brief, for appellant. Eva M. Badway, Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts, Criminal Bureau, with whom Andrea Joy Campbell, Attorney General of Massachusetts, was on brief, for appellee. June 5, 2026  KAYATTA, Circuit Judge. Following a shooting at an after-hours club in 2002, a Massachusetts jury convicted Dennis Jordan of numerous offenses, including armed assault with intent to murder. After the Massachusetts Appeals Court (MAC) affirmed his conviction and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declined further review, Jordan sought a writ of habeas corpus from the district court, which denied his petition. On appeal, he argues habeas relief is warranted due to alleged errors by his trial counsel, the trial court, and the prosecution. For the reasons that follow, we agree with the district court that Jordan's petition does not meet the stringent standard for habeas relief under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). I. Under AEDPA, we presume that the facts found by the MAC1 are supported by the record unless Jordan shows otherwise "by clear and convincing evidence." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1). We summarize those facts "supplemented with other facts from the record that are consistent with the MAC's findings." Hudson v. Kelly, 94 F.4th 195, 197 n.1 (1st Cir. 2024) (citation modified). 1 Because Jordan sought but was denied further state appellate review by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the MAC opinion is the "last reasoned [state court] decision" and is entitled to deference under AEDPA. See Junta v. Thompson, 615 F.3d 67, 71, 73 (1st Cir. 2010) (quoting Malone v. Clarke, 536 F.3d 54, 63 n.6 (1st Cir. 2008)). - 2 -  Arriving by private bus late on the night of September 13, 2002, Jordan and seven other men sought entry to an after-hours party in Brockton, Massachusetts. After a bouncer removed Jordan from the entry line, a violent altercation ensued in which shots were fired, striking three of the bouncers and paralyzing one from the waist down. In the wake of the gunfire, Jordan returned to the bus and banged on the door for entry while wielding a black handgun.2 The bus driver, Jerial Wilson, who was already familiar with Jordan, let the group back onto the bus and drove away from the scene under Jordan's instruction. Jordan was arrested less than a month later. After booking, he grew agitated and began swearing at one of the detectives, telling him, "[Y]ou ain't got nothing on me, you can't prove nothing," "[W]itnesses seem to not want to testify," and "[Y]ou ain't got the gun." Later that day, while denying involvement in the shooting, Jordan offered a description of the shooting, claimed he left the scene in a car with a woman named Star, and referred to "being able to find the guns used in the shooting." When reciting the foregoing facts, the MAC stated that "[Jordan] . . . fired shots" during the altercation with the