| The Supreme Court took aim at one of its favorite targets Tuesday, criticizing a California-based federal appeals court for its ruling in favor of a criminal defendant.pThe justices threw out a decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Michael Robert Pulido, who was convicted for his role in robbing a gas station and killing the defendant./ppA U.S. District Court judge set aside Pulido's conviction because the trial judge in the case gave the jury improper instructions./ppThe high court said in an unsigned opinion that the appeals court ruling affirming the federal judge's action used faulty reasoning. The justices did not reinstate Pulido's conviction./ppJustices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter agreed that the appeals court made a mistake, but would have affirmed its ruling anyway because the underlying decision in favor of Pulido was correct./ppLast month, the court overruled the 9th Circuit in an environmental case involving the Navy's use of sonar and its potential harm to whales./ppThe case is Hedgpeth v. Pulido, 07-544. /p |
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