PUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 23-6179

KENNETH KELLEY,

Petitioner – Appellee,

v.

WILLIAM S. BOHRER, Acting Warden; MARYLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL,

Respondents – Appellants.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt. George Jarrod Hazel, District Judge. (8:20-cv-03697-GJH)

Argued: January 25, 2024 Decided: February 28, 2024

Before AGEE, RICHARDSON, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges.

Reversed and remanded with instructions by published opinion. Judge Agee wrote the opinion in which Judge Richardson and Judge Quattlebaum joined.

ARGUED: Andrew John DiMiceli, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellants. Mary Claire Davis, WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW, Morgantown, West Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Anthony G. Brown, Attorney General, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellants. USCA4 Appeal: 23-6179 Doc: 46 Filed: 02/28/2024 Pg: 2 of 22

AGEE, Circuit Judge:

The State of Maryland (the “State”) appeals the district court’s grant of Kenneth

Kelley’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In the petition, Kelley

asserts that his state-court guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary because he wasn’t

informed of the nature and elements of the offenses to which he was pleading guilty and

that the state post-conviction court erred in concluding otherwise. The district court agreed

with Kelley, but in doing so, it failed to give due deference to the state-court decision.

Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the district court and remand with instructions to

deny Kelley’s petition.

I.

On October 10, 2014, Kelley was driving his vehicle thirty-five to forty miles per

hour over the speed limit with a blood alcohol concentration of .14 when he came upon a

vehicle that was stopped at a red light. Without braking, Kelley slammed into the rear of

the vehicle, which sent it spinning into a pole. Four of the people in that vehicle died as a

result of the collision—including two children—and one of Kelley’s passengers also died.

A state grand jury indicted Kelley on twenty-eight counts. Counts 1 through 5

charged Kelley with killing each of the five victims in a grossly negligent manner. Counts

6 through 10 charged Kelley with killing each of the victims “as the result of driving a

vehicle in a criminally negligent manner.” J.A. 58–59. Counts 11 through 15 charged

Kelley with killing each of the victims “as a result of his negligent driving, operation, and

control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol per se.” J.A. 59–60. Counts

2 USCA4 Appeal: 23-6179 Doc: 46 Filed: 02/28/2024 Pg: 3 of 22

16 through 20 charged him with killing each of the victims “as a result of his negligent

driving, operation, and control of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol.” J.A. 61–62.

And Counts 21 through 28 charged Kelley with driving under the influence per se, driving

while impaired by alcohol, driving unlicensed, reckless driving, negligent driving, failure

to control speed to avoid a collision with another vehicle, failure to stop at a steady circular

red signal, and driving a vehicle on a highway with an expired license.

Th

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