BOYD v. NEWLAND
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an amended order in BOYD v. NEWLAND, No. 03-17098, a habeas corpus appeal. The panel consisted of Richard D. Cudahy, Susan P. Graber, and Raymond C. Fisher, Circuit Judges.
GRABER, Circuit Judge:
The California courts denied a Batson motion made by Petitioner Mobassa Boyd and denied his request for a free transcript of the entire voir dire for use on appeal. We must ask whether those rulings were contrary to, or unreasonably applied, clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court. In an earlier decision in this case, we answered “no.” Boyd v. Newland, 393 F.3d 1008 (9th Cir. 2004). In response to a petition for rehearing and in light of recent Supreme Court cases clarifying Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), we conclude that our earlier analysis was flawed. We now hold that the California appellate courts violated clearly established federal law by denying Petitioner’s habeas petition because, without an entire voir dire transcript, those courts could not evaluate the relevant circumstances surrounding the contested strike, as Batson requires. In that respect we reverse and remand with instructions to grant the petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner also argues that the California courts erred by enhancing his sentence because of a nonjury juvenile adjudication. As in our earlier decision, we disagree and, in this respect, affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Petitioner Mobassa Boyd is African-American. He was charged in California with unlawfully possessing a firearm after having previously suffered a juvenile adjudication for a felony, Cal. Penal Code § 12021(e), and with unlawfully possessing a sawed-off shotgun, id. § 12020(a)(1). . . .
The Opinion filed on December 29, 2004, slip op. at 17513, and appearing at 393 F.3d 1008 (9th Cir. 2004), is amended. The Amended Opinion will be filed contemporaneously with this Order. With this amendment, the panel has voted to deny the petition for rehearing and petition for rehearing en banc. Judges Graber and Fisher have voted to deny the petition for rehearing en banc and Judge Cudahy has so recommended. The full court has been advised of the petition for rehearing en banc and no judge of the court has requested a vote on it. The petition for rehearing and petition for rehearing en banc are DENIED. Further petitions for rehearing or petitions for rehearing en banc may be filed. . . .