Raul Lopez v. Marvin Vernis Smith.

Summary

The Supreme Court held that the Ninth Circuit erred in granting habeas relief because no clearly established Supreme Court rule requires that a prosecutor’s focus on one theory of liability deprives a defendant of adequate notice of another theory. Accordingly, the state court’s decision was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of federal law, and the petition for relief was denied. The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.