Joseph Francolino v. Robert Kuhlman, Superintendent, Sullivan Correctional Facility, and Eliot L. Spitzer, Attorney General, New York

JOSÉ A. CABRANES, Circuit Judge.

We consider here as a matter of first impression whether, or in what circumstances, a writ of habeas corpus must issue where the petitioner was convicted after a jury trial at which the presiding judge had been effectively chosen by the prosecution.

Petitioner Joseph Francolino appeals from the denial of his habeas petition by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Allen G. Schwartz, Judge). Following an eight-month jury trial, petitioner was convicted in 1997 in New York Supreme Court, New York County, of enterprise corruption,…