United States First Circuit

In a federal petition for habeas corpus relief, appeal and cross-appeal are denied where: 1) any error by the district court in holding a full-scale evidentiary hearing was harmless; 2) the government waived nonexhaustion as a defense to petitioner's claims; 3) respondent did not show that petitioner's competence claim would be procedurally barred; 4) petitioner was competent to stand trial; and 5) an abusive relationship with her co-defendant did not violate petitioner's constitutional rights by forcing her to forego a defense based on battered woman's syndrome.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/02/2007
• Published 07/02/2007

Judges

• SELYA, Senior Circuit Judge., Before TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge, SELYA and TASHIMA, Senior Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Catherine J. Hinton, with whom James L. Sultan and Rankin & Sultan were on brief, for petitioner.


• For Appellees:
  
• David Lieber, Assistant Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with whom Thomas F. Reilly, Attorney General, and Cathryn A. Neaves, Assistant Attorney General, were on brief, for respondent.