Ainsworth v. Woodford

268 F.3d 868 (9th Cir. 2001) STEVEN KING AINSWORTH, PETITIONER-APPELLEE-CROSS-APPELLANT, v. JEANNE WOODFORD, ACTING WARDEN OF CALIFORNIA STATE PRISON AT SAN QUENTIN, RESPONDENT-APPELLANT-CROSS-APPELLEE. Nos. 99-99024, 99-99026 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT Argued and Submitted July 12, 2001 Filed September 28, 2001 [Copyrighted Material Omitted] Quin Denvir, Federal Defender, Sacramento, California, and James S. Thomson, Berkeley, California, for the petitioner. J. Robert Jibson, Deputy Attorney General, Sacramento, California, for the respondent. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California; Lawrence K. Karlton, Chief District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-S-90-00329-LKK-PA Before: Hug, Graber, and Fletcher, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge Hug; Dissent by Judge Graber Hug, Circuit Judge: 1 Jeanne Woodford, Acting Warden of San Quentin State Prison (the "State"), appeals the district court's order granting California state prisoner Steven Ainsworth's 28 U.S.C. &#167 2254 habeas corpus petition vacating Ainsworth's capital sentence. The district court granted relief on Ainsworth's claim that defense counsel was…