Echavarria v. Filson, No. 15-99001 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of habeas relief to petitioner, who was convicted and sentenced to death for killing an FBI agent. The panel applied de novo review and held that an unrevealed connection between the FBI agent and the judge who presided over petitioner's trial violated due process by creating a constitutionally intolerable risk of judicial bias. In this case, the FBI agent had previously investigated the judge for possible criminal prosecution. The panel held that the risk of bias deprived petitioner of a fair tribunal to which he was constitutionally entitled.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed the district court’s grant of habeas corpus relief to Jose Echavarria, who was convicted and sentenced to death for killing FBI Special Agent John Bailey. Echavarria claimed that there was a constitutionally intolerable risk of bias, based on the fact that several years earlier Agent Bailey had investigated for possible criminal prosecution Nevada District Judge Jack Lehman, who presided over Echavarria’s trial. The panel reviewed the Nevada Supreme Court’s decision de novo, rather than with AEDPA deference, because the Nevada Supreme Court adjudicated only Echavarria’s claim of actual bias, not his distinct claim of risk of bias. The panel held that Echavarria’s right to due process was violated because for an average judge in Judge Lehman’s position there would have been a constitutionally intolerable risk of bias. ECHAVARRIA V. FILSON 3
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