David Reagan, Appellee/cross-Appellant v. Larry Norris, Director, Arkansas Department of Corrections, Appellant/cross-Appellee

BEAM, Circuit Judge.

Larry Norris, as Director of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, appeals the district court’s grant of one ground for relief in David Reagan’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for habeas corpus. The district court determined that Reagan was denied conflict-free representation in violation of the Sixth Amendment. Reagan cross-ap peals the district court’s denial of his claim concerning an improper jury instruction. Since we reverse on the cross-appeal, we do not reach the Sixth Amendment claim.

I. BACKGROUND

Reagan was convicted in 1990 of first-degree murder in Arkansas state…