Gilley

MEMORANDUM *

Respondent-Appellant, Mitch Morrow, appeals the district court’s judgment conditionally granting Billy Frank Gilley’s petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 based on ineffective assistance of trial counsel during both the guilt and sentencing phases of his trial. 1 We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253. 2 We affirm the district court’s decision granting Gilley’s petition for writ of habeas corpus based on ineffective assistance of trial counsel during the sentencing phase of his trial, and reverse the district court’s decision granting Gilley’s petition for writ of habeas corpus based on ineffective assistance of trial counsel during the guilt phase of his trial. We address each of the State’s arguments below.

1. Evidentiary Hearing

At the outset, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it granted Gilley’s request for an evidentiary hearing pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (e) based on the district court’s finding that Gilley was diligent in his efforts to search for evidence during his state court proceedings. See Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 420, 435 , 120 S.Ct. 1479 , 146 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000) (holding…

concurring:

I concur in the result.