Denton White v. Dwight Neven

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Denton White appeals the district court’s denial of his habeas petition. He was convicted in Nevada state court of resisting a public officer, discharging a firearm into a structure, attempted robbery with use of a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, coercion with use of a deadly weapon, and battery with use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. White’s request for a certificate of appealability from this Court was granted on the following issues: first, whether there was sufficient evidence to sustain White’s conviction for first-degree kidnapping; second, whether jury instruction no. 12 regarding first-degree kidnapping violated White’s constitutional rights; third, whether White’s trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to that instruction; and fourth, whether cumulative error rendered White’s trial fundamentally unfair.

We review the decision of the Nevada Supreme Court under the deferential standards of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2254 .

The Nevada Supreme Court found the evidence was sufficient to support…