Polk v. Sandoval

BETTY B. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

Levenral Demarlo Polk, a Nevada state prisoner, appeals the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his conviction for first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and discharge of a firearm from a motor vehicle. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253. We hold that Polk’s federal constitutional right to due process was violated because the instructions given at his trial permitted the jury to convict him of first-degree murder without a finding of the essential element of deliberation. The error was not…