Curtis Lee Johnson v. James Spalding, Dr. Robert Jones, the Attorney General of the State of Washington

KILKENNY, Circuit Judge:

Appellant, a Washington state prisoner, convicted of first degree murder, sought habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In an exceptionally well written and exhaustive order, the district court denied the petition. Johnson v. Spalding, 510 F.Supp. 164 (ED Wash.1981).

Here, as in the district court, the appellant challenges the validity of the state court conviction on the following grounds:(1) that the alibi instruction shifted to him the state’s burden of persuasion;(2) that the instruction on reasonable doubt overstated the uncertainty required for a reasonable…