Fifth Circuit: Justin Atkins v. Timothy Hooper, Warden


State trial court's determination that detective's summary of statements of non-testifying witness was not inadmissible hearsay because it didn't recite the witness' words and the detective's purpose in describing the statements was to explain the course of the investigation was an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent.

State intermediate appeals citation referencing harmless error does not independently preserve the issue for the federal habeas claim, as the decision was looked through in favor of the reasoned decision of the lower court, and the issue was not presented in the federal collateral challenge.

Justin Atkins v. Timothy Hooper, Warden