United States Eighth Circuit

In a capital habeas matter, grant of petitioner's habeas petition is reversed where: 1) to the extent that certain excluded testimony regarding petitioner's family's abuse of a dog was offered to show a pattern of physical violence, it was contradicted by other evidence showing that petitioner himself was not abused; 2) it was not unreasonable for the Arkansas Supreme Court to conclude that petitioner was not prejudiced by the trial judge's decision to sustain an objection to a witness's testimony about the abuse of petitioner's sister; and 3) the absence of any prejudice was particularly apparent given the horrific nature of the crime.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/16/2009
• Published 12/16/2009

Judges

• WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge., Before WOLLMAN, JOHN R. GIBSON, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Pamela Rumpz, AAG, argued, Little Rock, AR, Teena L. Watkins, Darnisa Johnson, Kelly Hill, Lauren Heil, Little Rock, AR, on the brief, for appellant/cross-appellee., Julie Brain, AFPD, argued, Little Rock, AR, Josh Lee, Deborah Czuba, Jeffrey M. Rosenzweig, Little Rock, AR, on the brief, for appellee/cross-appellant.