Charles Franklin Murdoch, Jr. v. Roy Castro, Warden Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Attorney General of the State of California

Opinion by Judge TASHIMA; Dissent by Judge BRIGHT.

TASHIMA, Circuit Judge.

For the second time, Charles Murdoch, a California state prisoner, appeals from the judgment of the district court denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In his previous appeal, we held that the exclusion of a privileged letter could violate a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confrontation and cross-examination, depending on the content of the letter. Murdoch v. Castro, 365 F.3d 699, 705 (9th Cir.2004) (“Murdoch I”). We therefore remanded for the district court to review the letter and to determine whether…