Unusual Circumstances. In a prior post, I reported on the case of Hemstreet v. Greiner, in which the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court's grant of a writ of habeas corpus because of ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel. The Second Circuit has sua sponte vacated that opinion and remanded to the District Court for reconsideration. Since the decision came down, the witness who had claimed to have been intimidated by detectives, which alleged intimidation was the predicate for the relief granted, has recanted. Given the highly unusual circumstances, the Court reconsidered its prior decision and vacated and remanded to the District Court. The new decision can be found at the Second Circuit website. It was decided on August 2, 2004.