Taylor v. Singletary

BARKETT, Circuit Judge:

John Edward Taylor appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In the petition, Taylor claims that the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his request to be tried after his eodefendant Jesus Ortiz. As a result of the order of trials, Ortiz refused (on Fifth Amendment grounds) to offer material and exculpatory testimony on Taylor’s behalf. We agree with the district court that the trial court violated Taylor’s constitutional rights by effectively depriving him of a material witness’s testimony. However, the district court…