Christopher Williams v. James Schomig

Appellant Christopher Williams (Williams) challenges the district court’s denial of his habeas petition, contending that his constitutional rights were violated because the jury instructions on first-degree murder did not define “willful” and “deliberate.” Because Williams’s habeas petition was filed after 1996, his claim is governed by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). See Byrd v. Lewis, 566 F.3d 855, 859 (9th Cir.2009).

“Under AEDPA, [Williams’s] petition can be granted only if the state court determination resolving his claims was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law ...” Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). It is clearly established federal law as set forth by the Supreme Court, that an instructional error on an element of the offense may constitute a constitutional violation and that harmless error analysis is appropriate. See Hedgpeth v. Pulido, — U.S. ---, 129 S.Ct. 530, 532 , 172 L.Ed.2d 388 (2008); Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1, 8 , 119 S.Ct. 1827 , 144 L.Ed.2d 35 (1999); In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364 , 90 S.Ct. 1068 , 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970). In “determining whether a…