Opinion ID: 720696
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Did the Error Require Reversal?

Text: 39
40 A constitutionally deficient jury instruction is a trial-type error that is subject to harmless error analysis. See Schwendeman, 971 F.2d at 316. Schwendeman applied the harmless error test of Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 828, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967), and determined that a jury instruction identical to Instruction 9 could not be deemed harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. 971 F.2d at 316. Since Schwendeman was decided, however, the Supreme Court has announced a less stringent harmless error review in habeas proceedings. Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 113 S.Ct. 1710, 123 L.Ed.2d 353 (1993). We must review the error under this new standard. 2 41 On collateral review, Brecht requires a court to determine whether the constitutional error  'had substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict.'  Brecht, 507 U.S. at 637, 113 S.Ct. at 1722 (quoting Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 776, 66 S.Ct. 1239, 1253, 90 L.Ed. 1557 (1946)). Trial errors that do not meet this test are deemed harmless. Bonin v. Calderon, 59 F.3d 815, 824 (9th Cir.1995), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 718, 133 L.Ed.2d 671 (1996). However, where the record is so evenly balanced that a conscientious judge is in grave doubt as to the harmlessness of an error, the error is not harmless and relief must be granted. O'Neal v. McAninch, --- U.S. ----, ---- - ----, 115 S.Ct. 992, 994-95, 130 L.Ed.2d 947 (1995). Further, the proper harmless error inquiry in habeas proceedings is for the judge to ask, based on the record's facts, whether he or she believes that the error substantially influenced the jury's decision? Id. at ----, 115 S.Ct. at 995. 42
43 In the case before us, we must determine, not whether there was substantial evidence to convict Hanna, but whether Instruction 9 had a substantial influence on the conviction. Instruction 9 allowed the jury to infer recklessness from the mere fact of speeding. Although the evidence at trial conflicted regarding the extent of Hanna's speeding, it is undisputed that Hanna had been speeding near the time of the accident. Given the state of the record, there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury convicted Hanna merely because he admitted to driving slightly in excess of the speed limit, without separately considering whether he had driven with wanton and willful disregard for the safety of others. As in Schwendeman, instruction isolated speed as the only circumstance needed to permit the jury to find reckless driving and thereby convict. 971 F.2d at 316. 44 Convicting Hanna for vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault simply because he was speeding is fundamentally unfair. Because we cannot tell if the jury did convict based solely on Hanna's admission of driving slightly in excess of the speed limit, we are left in grave doubt as to the harmlessness of the erroneous instruction and cannot conclude that the error did not have a substantial and injurious effect on the verdict. Hanna's petition for writ of habeas corpus was therefore properly granted. 45 The judgment is AFFIRMED.