James Naff Gibson v. George Ortiz, Warden

Warden George Ortiz appeals the district court’s grant of the writ of habeas corpus to petitioner James Naff Gibson. The district court found that the use of California Jury Instruction, Criminal (“CALJIC”) No. 2.50.01, which pertains to evidence of prior sexual offenses, allowed the jury to find Gibson guilty of the charged offenses by relying on facts found only by a preponderance of the evidence. This lessened burden of proof violated Gibson’s due process rights under In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 , 90 S.Ct. 1068 , 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970), which requires the prosecution to prove every element charged in a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, the constitutionally infirm instruction deprived Gibson of a “jury verdict within the meaning of the Sixth Amendment.” Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 280 , 113 S.Ct. 2078 , 124 L.Ed.2d 182 (1993). Because the California Court of Appeal’s verdict was contrary to Winship and Sullivan , we affirm.

I.

JURISDICTION and STANDARD OF REVIEW

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253, and review de novo a district court’s decision to grant a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . See Ramirez v. Castro, 365 F.3d 755,…