United States Ninth Circuit

On remand from the United States Supreme Court, the district court's denial of a habeas corpus petition based on ineffective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase is reversed in part and remanded, where: 1) although Johnson v. Williams, 133 S. Ct. 1088 (2013) instructs federal courts to give state courts the benefit of the doubt when the basis for their holdings is unclear, Williams does not require federal courts to ignore a state court's explicit explanation of its own decision relying solely on state procedural grounds to deny the claim; 2) the third post conviction relief court did not adjudicate petitioner's ineffective assistance of counsel claim on the merits; 3) petitioner's counsel provided unconstitutionally ineffective assistance at the penalty phase of his trial; and therefore, 4) petitioner is entitled to habeas relief from his death sentence, though not from his conviction.

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/25/2013
• Published 10/25/2013

Judges

• FLETCHER

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel