United States Tenth Circuit

Petition for habeas relief from a conviction for first degree murder is granted where: 1) petitioner was constitutionally entitled at trial to a correct jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of second-degree murder, and the provision of a legally defective instruction on that crime was not harmless; and 2) a state appeals court's decision on that point was contrary to clearly established federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/30/2009
• Published 02/02/2009

Judges

• McCONNELL, Circuit Judge., Before KELLY, McCONNELL, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Randy A. Bauman, Assistant Federal Public Defender (James A. Drummond, Assistant Federal Public Defender, with him on the briefs), Oklahoma City, OK, for Petitioner-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Robert L. Whittaker, Assistant Attorney General (W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General of Oklahoma Criminal Division, with him on the brief), Oklahoma City, OK, for Respondent-Appellee.