Court Opinion

ID: 9435790
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 00:19:48.141958+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:24:09.368157
License: Public Domain

THOMAS, Circuit Judge,
with whom
McKEOWN, Circuit Judge, joins, dissenting:
As Judge Tashima has pointed out, the California Court of Appeal referenced Murdoch’s Confrontation Clause argument in its decision and discussed the attorney-client privilege in quoting People v. Godlewski, 17 Cal.App.4th 940, 21 Cal.Rptr.2d 796, 800 (1993). Assuming, arguendo, that the last reasoned state court opinion decided the Confrontation Clause argument on the merits, and that our review is therefore not de novo, I would still conclude that Murdoch is entitled to federal habeas relief.
For the reasons articulated by Chief Judge Kozinski, the California Court of Appeal decision was an objectively unreasonable application of clearly established federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States in a long series of cases, including Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004), Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347 (1974), and Douglas v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 415, 85 S.Ct. 1074, 13 L.Ed.2d 934 (1965). Thus, I join parts 2(a)-(e) and part 3 of Chief Judge Kozinski’s dissent.