Charles Gilmore v. Ronald Marks, Commissioner and the Attorney General of the State of Pennsylvania, and the District Attorney of Philadelphia

OPINION OF THE COURT

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

Before us is the appeal of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from the district court’s decision to grant a writ of habeas corpus ordering the release of the appellee, Charles Gilmore. The issue presented is whether the Supreme Court’s decision in Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 96 S.Ct. 3037, 49 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1976), bars federal habeas corpus review of a state court’s determination that a violation of the habeas petitioner’s Fourth Amendment rights constituted harmless error.

I

The events underlying this appeal stretch back 13 years. In 1973, Ollie…