Irving Sheppard v. Robert Rees

ORDER

The opinion filed in this case on August 25, 1989 and published in the advance sheets at 883 F.2d 795 -801 (1989) is ordered amended in its entirety as reflected by the Amended Opinion filed this date. With the opinion so amended, the panel has voted unanimously to deny the petition for rehearing and to reject the suggestion for rehearing en banc.

The full court has been advised of the Amended Opinion and the suggestion for en banc rehearing, and no judge of the court has requested a vote on the suggestion for rehearing en banc. Fed.R.App.P. 35(b).

The petition for rehearing is denied, and the suggestion for rehearing en banc is rejected.

OPINION

Irving Sheppard, a California state prisoner, appeals pro se the district court’s order dismissing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He claims, inter alia, he did not receive adequate notice to enable him to prepare a proper defense to a charge of felony-murder. We agree. We hold further that a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation is not subject to the harmless-error rule where the violation arises from the constitutionally improper use of one of multiple legal…