Robertson v. Cain

E. GRADY JOLLY, Circuit Judge:

In this appeal, Petitioner Donald Ray Robertson, a prisoner of the State of Louisiana, seeks review of a district court order denying his petition for federal habeas relief. Specifically, Robertson contends that an erroneous jury instruction deprived him of his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights. The State of Louisiana admits that the jury instruction was contrary to clearly established federal law, but it argues that Robertson is not entitled to federal habeas relief because the error was harmless.

In order to resolve this appeal, we must decide whether the…