Herbert William Chipman v. James Mercer, Chief Probation Officer

KENNEDY, Circuit Judge:

Herbert Chipman was convicted of burglary in state court. Chipman’s conviction was upheld by the Third District Court of Appeal of the State of California, and a petition for hearing was denied by the California Supreme Court. Chipman then filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. The district court granted the petition on the ground that Chipman’s sixth amendment right to confront witnesses was violated by the state trial court’s refusal to permit cross-examination of a witness for bias. We…