Tony Duckett v. Salvador Godinez Brian McKay

OVERVIEW

Tony Duckett is a Nevada state prisoner serving a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He was convicted of burglary and two counts of first-degree murder. He appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . He alleges the State of Nevada violated his rights to a fair trial and sentencing hearing because (1) the trial court improperly took an active role in the prosecution of his case; (2) the prosecutor improperly offered his personal opinions to the jury; (8) the trial court failed to give the jury a proposed alibi defense instruction and instructions regarding eyewitness testimony; and (4) he was forced to wear prison clothes and shackles before his sentencing jury.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253 . We reject all of Duckett’s arguments pertaining to his conviction. We also reject his contention that he was entitled to appointed counsel in his habeas corpus proceeding. We conclude, however, that Duck-ett’s due process rights under the United States Constitution were violated when he was required to appear in shackles in front of his state court sentencing jury. We…