Somerville v. Hunt

BARRINGTON D. PARKER, Circuit Judge:

The State of New York appeals from a decision of United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Garaufís, J.) granting Steven Somerville’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254. After Somerville’s initial sentence was vacated on the ground that it was illegal, the state court resentenced Somerville to a term he contended was higher than his initial sentence and that, as a result, this higher sentence was presumptively vindictive under North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 89 S.Ct. 2072, 23 L.Ed.2d 656 (1969). The…