Grant Gambaiani v. Brittany Greene
Court
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Decided
June 10, 2025
Jurisdiction
F
Importance
48%
Case Summary
In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 23-2690 GRANT GAMBAIANI, Petitioner-Appellant, v. BRITTANY GREENE, Warden, Respondent-Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 1:21-cv-05142 — Thomas M. Durkin, Judge. ____________________ ARGUED APRIL 3, 2025 — DECIDED MAY 13, 2025 ____________________ Before HAMILTON, BRENNAN, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges. BRENNAN, Circuit Judge. Grant Gambaiani was sentenced to 34 years in prison after an Illinois jury found him guilty of a host of crimes, including the repeated sexual assault of D.G., his minor cousin. Gambaiani appealed his conviction, argu- ing the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial when it partially closed the courtroom during D.G.’s testimony. The Illinois Appellate Court disagreed, 2 No. 23-2690 affirmed his conviction, and the Supreme Court of Illinois de- nied review. Gambaiani then sought postconviction relief in the Illinois state courts, averring his original trial attorneys failed to pro- vide him with effective assistance during plea negotiations. He argued they did not properly apprise him of his sentenc- ing exposure and, as a result, he rejected a plea offer he might otherwise have accepted. The state courts refused to grant Gambaiani relief. He then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in federal district court, claiming violations of his constitutional rights to a public trial and to effective as- sistance of counsel. The court denied his petition. Gambaiani appeals, and we affirm. I. Background A. Factual Background The underlying facts of this case are disturbing. Gam- baiani—at the time 24 years old—repeatedly abused his 10- year-old cousin, D.G. He touched D.G.’s genitals and instructed D.G. to do the same to him, assuring his minor cousin this was all normal. Gambaiani anally penetrated and performed oral sex on D.G. And he described to his cousin various other sexually deviant activities he hoped to pursue with him. In addition to abusing D.G., Gambaiani also pos- sessed pornographic videos depicting minors. For his actions, the State of Illinois charged Gambaiani with four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a mi- nor, and a final count of manufacturing child pornography. In July 2009, the state offered him a deal: He could plead guilty No. 23-2690 3 to a single felony in exchange for a sentencing range of 4 to 15 years’ imprisonment. After discussing the offer with his attor- neys, Kevin Halverson and Elliot Samuels, Gambaiani rejected it. According to Gambaiani, this was because his at- torneys led him to believe he would not have to serve any prison time. In truth, each of his predatory criminal sexual assault charges alone carried a sentence of 6 to 60 years, and in the event of multiple convictions, Gambaiani faced mandatory consecutive sentences. His attorneys claimed to have in- formed Gambaiani of all this and advised him that the state’s offer was a good one. They said it was his own belief that he could avoid incarceration that caused him to reject the offer. The state responded to Gambaiani’s rejection of the plea deal with additional child pornography charges based on newly discovered evidence. The case then went to trial. A jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts, and the trial court sentenced Gambaiani to 43 years’ imprisonment. But the Illinois Appellate Court reversed his convictions, conclud- ing the prosecution had unlawfully withheld potentially ex- culpatory evidence from the defendant. Following that reversal, the state offered Gambaiani a new plea deal. This time, the state would recommend a 25-year prison term—far less than the first sentence handed down by the trial court. At that point, Gambaiani was unwilling to ac- cept any more than 20 years’ imprisonment. So, he rejected that offer too, and the case again headed for trial. Gambaiani hired a new lawyer, Stephen Brundage, to re- try his case. At a status conference before the second trial, the state requested that the courtroom be closed during D.G.’s 4 No. 23-2690 testimony. Illinois law provides that, during the prosecution of certain sex offenses, a court may impose a limited closure: [W]hen the alleged victim of the offense was a minor under 18 years of age at the time of the offense, the court may ex
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Status
Decided
Date Decided
June 10, 2025
Jurisdiction
F
Court Type
appellate
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In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
____________________
No. 23-2690 GRANT GAMBAIANI, Petitioner-Appellant, v.
BRITTANY GREENE, Warden, Respondent-Appellee. ____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
No. 1:21-cv-05142 — Thomas M. Durkin, Judge.
____________________
ARGUED APRIL 3, 2025 — DECIDED MAY 13, 2025
____________________
Before HAMILTON, BRENNAN, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges. BRENNAN, Circuit Judge. Grant Gambaiani was sentenced to 34 years in prison after an Illinois jury found him guilty of a host of crimes, including the repeated sexual assault of D.G., his minor cousin. Gambaiani appealed his conviction, argu- ing the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial when it partially closed the courtroom during D.G.’s testimony. The Illinois Appellate Court disagreed, 2 No. 23-2690
affirmed his conviction, and the Supreme Court of Illinois de- nied review. Gambaiani then sought postconviction relief in the Illinois state courts, averring his original trial attorneys failed to pro- vide him with effective assistance during plea negotiations. He argued they did not properly apprise him of his sentenc- ing exposure and, as a result, he rejected a plea offer he might otherwise have accepted. The state courts refused to grant Gambaiani relief. He then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in federal district court, claiming violations of his constitutional rights to a public trial and to effective as- sistance of counsel. The court denied his petition. Gambaiani appeals, and we affirm. I. Background A. Factual Background The underlying facts of this case are disturbing. Gam- baiani—at the time 24 years old—repeatedly abused his 10- year-old cousin, D.G. He touched D.G.’s genitals and instructed D.G. to do the same to him, assuring his minor cousin this was all normal. Gambaiani anally penetrated and performed oral sex on D.G. And he described to his cousin various other sexually deviant activities he hoped to pursue with him. In addition to abusing D.G., Gambaiani also pos- sessed pornographic videos depicting minors. For his actions, the State of Illinois charged Gambaiani with four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a mi- nor, and a final count of manufacturing child pornography. In July 2009, the state offered him a deal: He could plead guilty No. 23-2690 3
to a single felony in exchange for a sentencing range of 4 to 15 years’ imprisonment. After discussing the offer with his attor- neys, Kevin Halverson and Elliot Samuels, Gambaiani rejected it. According to Gambaiani, this was because his at- torneys led him to believe he would not have to serve any prison time. In truth, each of his predatory criminal sexual assault charges alone carried a sentence of 6 to 60 years, and in the event of multiple convictions, Gambaiani faced mandatory consecutive sentences. His attorneys claimed to have in- formed Gambaiani of all this and advised him that the state’s offer was a good one. They said it was his own belief that he could avoid incarceration that caused him to reject the offer. The state responded to Gambaiani’s rejection of the plea deal with additional child pornography charges based on newly discovered evidence. The case then went to trial. A jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts, and the trial court sentenced Gambaiani to 43 years’ imprisonment. But the Illinois Appellate Court reversed his convictions, conclud- ing the prosecution had unlawfully withheld potentially ex- culpatory evidence from the defendant. Following that reversal, the state offered Gambaiani a new plea deal. This time, the state would recommend a 25-year prison term—far less than the first sentence handed down by the trial court. At that point, Gambaiani was unwilling to ac- cept any more than 20 years’ imprisonment. So, he rejected that offer too, and the case again headed for trial. Gambaiani hired a new lawyer, Stephen Brundage, to re- try his case. At a status conference before the second trial, the state requested that the courtroom be closed during D.G.’s 4 No. 23-2690
testimony. Illinois law provides that, during the prosecution of certain sex offenses, a court may impose a limited closure: [W]hen the alleged victim of the offense was a minor under 18 years of age at the time of the offense, the court may ex
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Case Details
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Status
Decided
Date Decided
June 10, 2025
Jurisdiction
F
Court Type
appellate
Legal Significance
Case importance metrics
Metadata
Additional information
Quick Actions
Case management tools