This bug was reported to the Debian BTS.
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=367610

Package: nautilus
Version: 2.14.1-2
Severity: normal


Hi,

(For this bug report, please read "file" as "file/directory".)

I've discovered that when I'm deleting files I can reach a situation where
I can't easily use the keyboard to select the last file.  It is necessary
to do one of the following:

 - Control-A
 - leave the directory and re-enter it
 - use the mouse

the first one is not obvious (and I'm not sure if novice users would find
it) and the latter two are somewhat annoying.

Normally if no files are hilighted in Nautilus you can hit the "right"
key and the first file will be hilighted.  When a file is deleted then
the next file has a selection box around the name, but it isn't hilighted.
It is necessary to use an arrow key to move the hilight onto another
file.

But, if there are only two files left, and you delete one of them, there
is no other file to move the selection on to and hilight.  So you need
to carry out one of the three actions above.

I'm not sure if there is any clear solution to this...