Hanna V. Riveland

Petitioner-appellee Craig Mitchell Hanna ("Hanna") was convicted of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in King County, Washington, state court. The Supreme Court of Washington affirmed his conviction. State v. Hanna, 123 Wash. 2d 704, 871 P.2d 135 (Wash. 1994), cert. denied, 130 L. Ed. 2d 212, 115 S. Ct. 299 (1995). Hanna then filed this federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court determined that an instruction allowing the jury to infer reckless driving from excessive speeds was a "trial type" constitutional error. Moreover, the district court could not say that the error did not have a "substantial and injurious" influence on the verdict, and therefore granted the writ.