Thomas

Opinion by Judge GRABER; Dissent by Judge O’SCANNLAIN.

OPINION

Respondent, the Warden of San Quentin State Prison, appeals from the district court’s grant of a writ of habeas corpus to Petitioner Ralph International Thomas. The California Supreme Court held that Petitioner received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial but that trial counsel’s deficient assistance did not prejudice Petitioner. The district court disagreed with the latter conclusion, held that Petitioner had established prejudice, and granted the writ. We affirm.

*1088 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In the early morning hours of Friday, August 16, 1985, some person or persons murdered Greg Kniffin and Mary Gioia near a homeless encampment named Rainbow Village. Both victims had been beaten badly, shot in the neck by a high-powered firearm at point-blank range, and then dragged into San Francisco Bay. After sunrise on the morning of the murders, a jogger noticed a body floating in the Bay and contacted the police. The police recovered Mary’s body and, the next day, police divers discovered Greg’s submerged body. Ten days after the murders, the police arrested Petitioner.

A. Trial

1.…

Gerald A. Engler, Senior Assistant Attorney General, State of California, San Francisco, CA, for the respondent-appellant.

A.J. Kutchins, Berkeley, CA, for the petitioner-appellee.

Before: DIARMUID F. O'SCANNLAIN, SUSAN P. GRABER, and CARLOS T. BEA, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge GRABER; Dissent by Judge O'SCANNLAIN.

GRABER, Circuit Judge:

Respondent, the Warden of San Quentin State Prison, appeals from the district court's grant of a writ of habeas corpus to Petitioner Ralph International Thomas. The California Supreme Court held that Petitioner received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial but that trial counsel's deficient assistance did not prejudice Petitioner. The district court disagreed with the latter conclusion, held that Petitioner had established prejudice, and granted the writ. We affirm.

In the early morning hours of Friday, August 16, 1985, some person or persons murdered Greg Kniffin and Mary Gioia near a homeless encampment named Rainbow Village. Both victims had been beaten badly, shot in the neck by a high-powered firearm at point-blank range, and then dragged into San Francisco Bay. After sunrise on the morning of the murders,…

dissenting:

The majority finds Strickland prejudice based on two conclusions: that the case *1107 against Ralph International Thomas was very close and that the testimony of three would-be witnesses would have been “extremely helpful” in corroborating the testimony of key defense witness Vivian Cercy. Maj. op. 1103-04, 1106. Neither conclusion is warranted. The case against Thomas was stronger than the majority suggests, and the insubstantial testimony of those three witnesses would not have sufficiently corroborated Cercy’s testimony or otherwise undermined the State’s case. Thomas is therefore not entitled to habeas relief on the basis the district court gave, and I respectfully dissent.

I

This case was not as close as the majority suggests.

Mary Gioia and Greg Kniffin were killed by gunshot wounds typical of a high-powered rifle or shotgun, but inconsistent with a handgun. Thomas owned a high-powered rifle that, based on its peculiar features, was likely to have been used effectively only by someone familiar with it. Thomas shot the rifle the night before the murders, showing that he indeed knew how to use it effectively. Moreover, Thomas was with the victims soon before…