Talal B. Jammal v. John K. Van De Kamp, Attorney General of the State of California Superior Court of the County of Contra Costa
Opinion
Opinion
Kozinski, J.
We consider whether petitioner Talal B. Jammal is entitled to a writ of habeas corpus because of an evidentiary error at his criminal trial.
Facts
Police arrested David Willis on suspicion of car theft and discovered a cache of drugs, $47,000 and a handgun in the trunk of the car. The gun and the car were registered to Jammal.
Everyone agrees that Willis stole the car from Jammal. According to Willis, he had decided to “get” Jammal because Jammal had ripped him off in a $50 marijuana transaction. He waited outside Jammal’s house until Jammal came out; when Jam-mal started backing his car down the driveway, Willis ran up to the car and broke the driver’s side window. Jammal fled out the passenger side door and Willis jumped into the still moving car and drove away. The drugs, Willis claimed, must have been in the trunk when he stole the car.
The police issued a warrant for Jammal’s arrest but didn’t arrest him until over a year and a half later. When the police arrested Jammal, they found over $135,000 in the trunk of the car he was driving.
At trial, Willis testified he had no idea the drugs and money were in the trunk of the car he had stolen until the police opened it; the…