Task: songer_applfrom

What follows is an opinion from a United States Court of Appeals. Your task is to identify the type of district court decision or judgment appealed from (i.e., the nature of the decision below in the district court).

PER CURIAM:
This is an appeal from a judgment entered in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Robert J. Ward, Judge, granting a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner in this case, Michael Simmons, was convicted in 1976 of sodomy, robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon after a jury trial in the Supreme Court of New York, Bronx County. At trial, on direct appeal, and in his habeas petition, Simmons argued that the trial court’s instructions to the jury regarding his alibi defense shifted the burden of proof and therefore violated his right to a fair trial. Judge Ward, in a thorough and careful opinion, granted the writ after concluding that the charge was erroneous and that the error could not be considered harmless. We affirm on the strength of Judge Ward’s opinion. See Simmons v. Dalsheim, 543 F.Supp. 729 (S.D. N.Y.1982).
Judgment affirmed.

Question: What is the type of district court decision or judgment appealed from (i.e., the nature of the decision below in the district court)?
A. Trial (either jury or bench trial)
B. Injunction or denial of injunction or stay of injunction
C. Summary judgment or denial of summary judgment
D. Guilty plea or denial of motion to withdraw plea
E. Dismissal (include dismissal of petition for habeas corpus)
F. Appeals of post judgment orders (e.g., attorneys' fees, costs, damages, JNOV - judgment nothwithstanding the verdict)
G. Appeal of post settlement orders
H. Not a final judgment: interlocutory appeal
I. Not a final judgment: mandamus
J. Other (e.g., pre-trial orders, rulings on motions, directed verdicts) or could not determine nature of final judgment
K. Does not fit any of the above categories, but opinion mentions a "trial judge"
L. Not applicable (e.g., decision below was by a federal administrative agency, tax court)
Answer:

Answer: A