No. 25-5982

Bani Marcela Duarte v. Lavelle Parker, Acting Warden

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2025-10-29
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
IFP Experienced Counsel
Tags: due-process fair-trial ineffective-assistance prosecutorial-misconduct reasonable-doubt second-degree-murder
Key Terms:
DueProcess HabeasCorpus CriminalProcedure JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2026-01-09
Question Presented (from Petition)

I. Did the Prosecution Fail to Prove the Second Degree Murder Charge Beyond a Reasonable Doubt; Did Appellate Counsel Render Ineffective Assistance?

II. Did the Trial Court Deprive Duarte of Due Process and a Fair Trial by Admitting Evidence of Duarte's 2016 DUI Arrest; Did Appellate Counsel Render Ineffective Assistance?

III. Did the Trial Court Deprive Duarte of Due Process and a Fair Trial by Failing to Issue an Instruction on Foreseeability; Did Trial and Appellate Counsel Render Ineffective Assistance?

IV. Did the Newly Discovered Evidence Show that Duarte Did Not Cause the Deaths; Did Trial Counsel Render Ineffective Assistance?

V. Did the Prosecutor Commit Prejudicial Misconduct During Closing Argument; Did Trial and Appellate Counsel Render Ineffective Assistance?

VI. Did the Cumulative Effect of the Errors in Claims I-V Deprive Duarte of Due Process and a Fair Trial?

VII. Did the Police Deprive Duarte of Her Sixth Amendment Right to Remain Silent by Questioning Her After the Car Accident?

VIII. Did the Prosecutor Commit Misconduct by Relying on an Unpublished Decision to Exclude Significant Statistical Defense Evidence About DUI Fatalities?

IX. Did the California Court of Appeal (CCA) Unreasonably Uphold the Trial Court's Post-Trial Refusal to Release Juror Identifying Information?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the prosecution failed to prove second-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt and whether multiple alleged trial errors deprived the defendant of due process and a fair trial

Docket Entries

2026-01-12
Petition DENIED.
2025-12-11
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
2025-10-22
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due November 28, 2025)

Attorneys

Bani Duarte
Rose Fay ArfaFay Arfa, A Law Corporation, Petitioner