United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT October 9, 2006
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 04-30520
KIRK K HALL,
Petitioner-Appellant,
versus
BURL CAIN, WARDEN, LOUISIANA STATE PENITENTIARY,
Respondent-Appellee.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Louisiana
USDC No. 3:99-CV-541-C
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Before HIGGINBOTHAM, DENNIS, and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
The petitioner in this case, a criminal defendant convicted of
second degree murder, appeals from the denial of his claim for
habeas relief on the grounds that he received inadequate assistance
of counsel because of a conflict of interest. A magistrate judge
initially reviewed the claim, which did not allege specifics,
concluding in a report that the performance of counsel was
adequate. The defendant filed two pro se “objections” to the
report, adding additional details in support of his claims. The
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
No. 04-30520
-2-
district court noted that it had considered the filings as
“objections,” adopted the report as is, and denied habeas relief.
We have previously held that it can be an abuse of discretion
for a district court to fail to liberally construe pro se filings
as motions to amend the initial complaint. United States v.
Riascos, 76 F.3d 93, 94 (5th Cir. 1996). The facts here are
virtually identical. We therefore REVERSE and REMAND to the
district court to consider leave to amend the complaint in light of
Riascos.