021845P.pdf   06/15/2004  Vernon Brown  v.  Allen Luebbers
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  02-1845
   Eastern District of Missouri   
   Prisoner case - habeas. In an en banc opinion, the court sets aside the 
   district court's order granting habeas relief and reinstates Brown's death 
   sentence. Brown's constitutional claim was adjudicated on the merits in 
   state court, and the AEDPA Sec. 2254(d) standard of review applies to 
   his claim that the district court erred in excluding, as hearsay, a letter he 
   sought to introduce as mitigating evidence at his sentencing; decision that 
   the letter did not meet the standards for admission because it was neither 
   highly relevant to a critical issue nor reliable was not an unreasonable 
   application of federal law; in any event, the letter was cumulative of other 
   character evidence already in evidence and the refusal to admit the letter 
   was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Wollman, with Murphy, 
   concurring. Colloton, concurring. R. Arnold, with Bye and Melloy, 
   dissenting. 
   [PUBLISHED] [Bowman, Author] 
  
021845P.pdf   09/19/2003  Vernon Brown  v.  Allen Luebbers
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  02-1845
   Eastern District of Missouri   
   Habeas Corpus - Death Penalty. District court's denial of habeas 
   relief is affirmed in part and reversed in part. Defendant's claim 
   prosecutor made improper reference to the exercise of his right not to 
   testify was procedurally defaulted when his attorney failed to raise the 
   claim before the state court; exclusion of social worker's testimony 
   did not deprive defendant of due process; state court's rulings on 
   defendant's inculpatory statements were not contrary to clearly 
   established law and were entirely reasonable; claim regarding failure 
   to question jurors who were burglarized was procedurally defaulted 
   and failure to declare mistrial was not unreasonable; claim that 
   counsel was ineffective for informing jury of defendant's prior death 
   sentence was without merit; and trial court's rejection of mitigation 
   instruction was not error as instructions given directed jury to consider 
   mitigation. District court erred in rejecting letter from defendant's 
   brother in mitigation and error was not harmless. Habeas relief is 
   granted on penalty phase. Judge Bowman dissents from grant of 
   habeas relief.