John Henry Casey v. Robert Moore

John Henry Casey appeals the district court’s denial of his habeas petition, insisting that a biased jury that was convened for a trial in an improper venue convicted' him after considering impermissible hearsay evidence, and after improper closing argument from the prosecutor, all in violation of the United States Constitution. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 , 2253, and we affirm in part and dismiss in part.

I

We set forth first John Casey’s testimony about how his wife was shot and died. We next discuss the facts most pertinent to John Casey’s claim of improper venue. Finally, we review briefly the facts pertinent to John Casey’s claims of improper admission of hearsay testimony and of alleged prosecutorial misconduct in closing argument.

A

While with her husband John Casey in the garage of their home in Wenatchee, Washington, on October 11, 1998, Rosemary Casey was shot by a bullet fired from John Casey’s semiautomatic .30-06 caliber hunting rifle. Only John Casey’s version of the shooting incident survives, as Rosemary Casey died in a hospital shortly after suffering the gunshot wound.

At his trial in Chelan County Superior Court on charges for second…