Ervin Devere Ellison v. Stephen H. Sachs, Attorney General of the State of Maryland, Public Defender for the State of Maryland, Amicus Curiae

MURNAGHAN, Circuit Judge:

Ervin D. Ellison was convicted by a jury in Prince George’s County, Maryland of a second degree sexual offense. In obtaining a conviction, the prosecution relied heavily on out-of-court hearsay statements by the five year old victim who was ruled incompetent to testify at trial by the state judge. Despite the ruling, a police detective testified, over objections, to the victim’s extrajudicial statements and identification of Ellison. The state appellate courts affirmed Ellison’s conviction.

On collateral review pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, the United States District…