Taylor v. Cate

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Petitioner was convicted of felony murder predicated on attempted robbery. The State subsequently believed petitioner that he was not the actual shooter and the state trial court resentenced petitioner as an aider and abettor to a term of imprisonment with the possibility of parole. Petitioner objected to resentencing, contending that the jury had not found him guilty of aiding and abetting the robbery, and that he was entitled to a new trial. On appeal, petitioner challenged the district court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254(d)(1). The court concluded that the right to a jury in this case means that petitioner had the right to have a jury decide what conduct he committed. Resentencing on the basis of facts that the jury did not find, and that conflicted with what the jury did find, violated petitioner's Sixth Amendment rights. Further, there was no trial error that could be subject to harmless error analysis. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded. View "Taylor v. Cate" on Justia Law