United States Ninth Circuit

Use of 1978 death penalty jury instructions, which required the jury to impose the death penalty if aggravating factors outweighed mitigating factors and are substantially different from 1977 death penalty instructions, violates due process and was not harmless error.

Appellate Information

• Argued 11/08/2001
• Decided 06/26/2001
• Published 06/26/2001

Judges

• HUG, Circuit Judge:, Before:  HUG, T.G. NELSON and GOULD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• C. Renée Manes, Deputy Federal Public Defender, Los Angeles, CA, and Gail R. Weinheimer, San Anselmo, CA, for the petitioner-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Lisa J. Brault and Emilio E. Varanini IV, Deputy Attorneys General, Los Angeles, CA, for the respondent-appellee.