Today, the 9th Circuit reversed a denial of habeas relief in
Gautt v. Lewis, No. 03-55534 (opinion
here). The opinion is 39 pages long, with no dissent - lots of good stuff. Importantly for you cert watchers, a separate (unpublished) opinion was filed denying relief regarding the underlying conviction. The sentencing phase is the issue here, and it appears that the petitioner will return to jail after resentencing under the correct statutory enhancement is applied (or not - there may be an Apprendi/Blakely/Cunningham issue lurking beneath the statute). Anyway, here is the squib for now; I hope to write more later after I give the decision a closer read.
Gautt v. Lewis
Denial of habeas relief on petitioner's sentence for second-degree murder is reversed where: 1) his constitutional due process right to be informed of the charges against him was violated when he was charged with a sentencing enhancement under one statute, section 12022.53(b) of the California Penal Code, but had his sentence enhanced under a second, different statute; and 2) California appellate court's decision to the contrary constituted an unreasonable application of clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court.
