Riley v. McDaniel

Petitioner, convicted of robbery and murder, appealed the denial of his habeas corpus petition. Petitioner argued, inter alia, that one of the guilt-phase instructions given at his trial violated his due process rights by advising the jury that if it finds “premeditation,” it has necessarily found “deliberation.” Petitioner contended that this instruction relieved the state of its burden to prove every element of the offense. The district court found that the state trial court had committed constitutional error, but that the error was harmless. The court concluded, however, that the error was prejudicial where the court had no reason to believe that the jury in fact decided to convict petitioner based on a felony-murder theory rather than on the more traditional first-degree murder charge. The evidence of petitioner’s cocaine intoxication and emotional agitation might well have created reasonable doubt as to the third element of first-degree murder, the one the court’s instructions failed to identify as an independent element: deliberation. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded with instructions to grant the writ unless the State of Nevada elects to pursue a new trial within a reasonable time. View "Riley v. McDaniel" on Justia Law