United States Ninth Circuit

Partial grant and partial denial of state prisoner's petition for habeas relief, upholding his kidnapping and first-degree murder conviction but overturning his sentence of death, is affirmed over: 1) the State's request to invoke the panel's discretion to sua sponte apply the non-retroactivity bar under Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288 (1989); and 2) the State's challenge to the district court's holding that the trial court violated Pensinger's constitutional rights by failing to instruct the jury sua sponte in accordance with People v. Greene, 27 Cal. 3d 1 (1980).

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/02/2015
• Published 06/02/2015

Judges

• Tallman

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel