Yarborough, Warden v. Gentry

124 S.Ct. 1 (2003)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Gentry (D) was convicted in California state court of assault with a deadly weapon for stabbing his girlfriend, Handy. D claimed he stabbed her accidentally during a dispute with a drug dealer. Handy testified for the prosecution. She stated that she recalled being stabbed but could not remember the details of the incident. The prosecution then confronted Handy with her testimony from a preliminary hearing that D had placed his hand around her throat before stabbing her twice. Albert Williams, a security guard in a neighboring building, testified that he saw D, Handy, and another man from his third-floor window. According to Williams, D swung his hand into Handy's left side with some object, causing her to lean forward and scream. Williams was inconsistent about the quality of light at the time, stating variously that it was 'pretty dark' or 'getting dark,' that 'it wasn't that dark,' and that the area of the stabbing was 'lighted up.' D claimed that he had stabbed Handy accidentally while pushing her out of the way. When asked about prior convictions, he falsely stated that he had been convicted only once; evidence showed he had been separately convicted of burglary, grand theft, battery on a peace officer, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He attributed his error to confusion about whether a plea bargain counted as a conviction. D was convicted and appealed claiming that his counsel's closing argument deprived him of effective assistance of counsel. The court of appeals rejected his contentions, and the California Supreme Court refused review. The District Court denied habeas corpus, but the Ninth Circuit reversed.