Lee v. Garlick

Issues: (1) Whether, in granting habeas corpus relief to a state court prisoner, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit created a circuit split and denied the state court judgment the deference mandated by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1) when it relied on a test that was not clearly established by the Supreme Court’s precedents to determine that an autopsy report was testimonial under the confrontation clause; (2) whether the 2nd Circuit violated Yarborough v. Alvarado by applying an overly specific “unreasonable application” analysis; and (3) whether the 2nd Circuit violated the harmless error standard in Brecht v. Abrahamson in ruling that the admission of the autopsy report was not harmless despite (a) uncertainty as to whether the report was admissible to form the basis of an in-court expert opinion, and (b) overwhelming evidence of guilt including surveillance video of James Garlick stabbing the victim to death.