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Waddington v. Sarausad: Ambiguous Jury Instruction Not Clearly Established Wrong

Sarausad drove with fellow gang members to a high school, in order to retaliate against a rival gang. With knowledge that his front-seat passenger was armed and going to shoot, Sarausad drove toward a group of students standing outside the school. The passenger opened fire, killing one student and wounding another. A jury convicted Sarausad of second degree murder, second degree attempted murder, and second degree assault based on accomplice liability. The accomplice liability jury instructions mirrored a state statute and had been upheld by Washington state courts. A federal judge granted habeas relief and the Ninth Circuit affirmed, finding the instruction ambiguous under state law, because there is a reasonable probability that a jury would apply the instructions to relieve the prosecution of its obligation to prove all elements of the crime. The Supreme Court reversed, holding, that the state-court decision did not result in an "unreasonable application of ... clearly established Federal law," as is required for relief under sec.2254(d)(1).

Full post as published by U.S. Supreme Court Blog on January 21, 2009 (boomark / email).