Leatrice Little v. Bill Armontrout

ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

Leatrice Little appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, by the District Court. Because we hold that Little’s Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of law was violated when the state trial court refused to appoint an expert in hypnosis for him, we reverse. 1

I

On the evening of August 13, 1980, the victim, M.B.G., was raped in her apartment in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The assailant entered her apartment, hid in her closet, and then attacked her when she opened the closet doors. He wore one of her blouses over his…