Mark Owen McGuire v. Wayne Estelle, Warden

Mark McGuire (“McGuire”) appeals from the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (a). McGuire was convicted of second degree murder and is now serving a fifteen year to life sentence in a California state prison. McGuire contends that the admission of evidence of prior acts against him at his trial was error and denied him due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment. We find that his contention has merit and REVERSE.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

At about 9:00 p.m., on July 7, 1981, McGuire and his wife brought their six-month-old baby girl to the emergency room of a hospital in Hayward, California. The baby was bluish in color and was not breathing. The hospital staff were unable to save the baby and she was pronounced dead at about 9:45 p.m.

At trial, one of the baby’s treating physicians testified that the child was essentially lifeless and without vital signs when she was brought into the hospital. The doctor also testified that the baby had a large and relatively recent bruise on the upper left chest area with multiple bruise marks around it, black and blue marks on her ears, and scar tissue indicating tearing around…