Adorno v. Melvin

Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendant’s habeas petition challenging his attempted murder conviction on grounds that state-court trial judge deprived him of due process, where trial judge, in addressing prospective jurors, attempted to define “reasonable doubt” through reference to lesser preponderance of evidence standard, and where defendant argued that said remarks invited jurors to convict him on less than reasonable doubt standard. No reversible error occurred, where: (1) trial court told jurors that it was “up to you to decide in words” what reasonable doubt means; and (2) such directive was not tantamount to invitation to convict defendant on some lesser standard of proof.