United States Ninth Circuit

Grant of a petition for habeas relief in a sexual assault case is affirmed on due process grounds where: 1) had the state's DNA expert's unreliable and misleading testimony on the DNA evidence been excluded, there would have been insufficient evidence to convict petitioner on each essential element of the offenses beyond a reasonable doubt; and 2) the Nevada Supreme Court's decision was both "contrary to" and an "unreasonable application of" established U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

Appellate Information

• Argued 08/16/2007
• Decided 05/05/2008
• Published 05/05/2008

Judges

• Before: DIARMUID F. O'SCANNLAIN, HAWKINS, and KIM McLANE WARDLAW, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Catherine Cortez Masto, Attorney General, Erik A. Levin, Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Justice Division, Carson City, NV, for the respondent-appellant., Franny Forsman, Federal Public Defender, Paul G. Turner, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Las Vegas, NV, for the petitioner-appellee.