As predicted here and here, Hedgpeth v. Pulido was decided quickly and per curiam by the U. S. Supreme Court. The Court was unanimous that the Ninth Circuit's determination that the jury instruction in this case was "structural error" was erroneous. The majority decided that the case needed to go back to the Ninth for application of the correct harmless-error standard of Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 623 (1993). The dissent (Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg) would affirm on the ground that the lower courts had effectively determined that Pulido should get habeas relief under the Brecht standard, and there is no need to drag this particular case out for one more round of review.

The AP story on the case is here: "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."