(DOWNLOAD) "Boyle V. Million" by Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Boyle V. Million
- Author : Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- Release Date : January 07, 2000
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 57 KB
Description
Respondent George Million, the warden at Eastern Kentucky Correctional Center, appeals the decision of the district court granting the petitioner, Cornelius Boyle, a conditional writ of habeas corpus based upon prosecutorial misconduct that occurred during Boyle's criminal trial. Before us, Million contends that the writ was erroneously issued because it was based in part upon alleged prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument, a claim that the respondent insists was procedurally defaulted before the Kentucky state courts. We conclude, however, that the Kentucky appellate courts did not clearly and expressly base their denial of Boyle's claims upon procedural default rules. Consequently, the issue raised by the petitioner was properly before the district court. Moreover, because "grave doubt" exists as to whether the blatantly unethical prosecutorial conduct at Boyle's trial had a substantial and injurious effect upon the jury's decision, we concur with the determination that such error cannot be deemed harmless. We thus affirm the district court's grant of the conditional writ of habeas corpus in this matter.