Lower Court Holding
Decision of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
At a murder trial in which the central question is whether the defendant acted in self-defense, are a defendant’s constitutional rights violated when spectators are permitted to wear buttons depicting the deceased individual? We conclude that under clearly established Supreme Court law such a practice interferes with the right to a fair trial by an impartial jury free from outside influence.The AEDPA Standard [Defendant Mathew] Musladin’s petition for habeas corpus is governed by the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). Therefore, we may not grant habeas relief to the Defendant unless the State court decision was "contrary to, or…
