John F. Ouimette v. John Moran, Director of the Department of Corrections

BOWNES, Senior Circuit Judge.

The state of Rhode Island appeals the federal grant of a writ of habeas corpus ordering unconditional release of petitioner John F. Ouimette. Ouimette was convicted in 1976 for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery and sentenced to life imprisonment then resentenced in 1983 to a forty-five-year term with fifteen years suspended. The state presents three related issues: (1) whether it was clearly erroneous for the federal magistrate-judge 1 to augment petitioner's state court record and grant the writ under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d); 2 (2) whether there was clear…