United States of America Ex Rel. Samuel Saiken v. Peter B. Bensinger and John J. Twomey

SPRECHER, Circuit Judge.

This appeal determines the applicability of Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 96 S.Ct. 3037, 49 L.Ed.2d 1067 to a habeas corpus petition decided by the district court prior to the decision in Stone and whether a goose-house 400 feet from a farm dwelling is within the curtilage protected by the Fourth Amendment.

I

This case involved a particularly brutal murder of a 17-year old girl who “was a friend” of both a father and his son. The son, Joel Saiken, accused his father of the murder and the father, Samuel Saiken, accused the son. The body was found buried on the father’s…