Stinson
Stinson v. Butler
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM *
Warden Diana Butler (“the State”) appeals the District Court’s conditional grant of defendant/petitioner Brian Stinson’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition challenging his conviction for second degree murder. Because the parties are familiar with the factual and procedural history of this case, we will not recount it here. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we reverse.
Stinson filed his habeas petition in 1998; thus, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) governs our review. Lindh v. Murphy, 521 U.S. 320, 327 , 117 S.Ct. 2059 , 138 L.Ed.2d 481 (1997). Under the limited review provided by AEDPA, federal courts can grant habeas relief to state prisoners only if the state court’s decision was “contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States” 1 or “resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceedings.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d). See Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 404-05 , 120 S.Ct. 1495 , 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000).