United States Ninth Circuit

Denial of habeas relief from a conviction and death sentence for the first-degree murders of petitioner's wife and business partner is affirmed as: 1) a state court's holding that the trial court did not violate Faretta v. California was not objectively unreasonable; 2) a state court properly denied a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel during trial; 3) counsel's decision to concede petitioner's guilt during the sentencing phase of the trial was not objectively unreasonable under federal law; and 4) a state court's determination that a trial court did not improperly exclude mitigating evidence was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of federal law.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/24/2007
• Published 09/24/2007

Judges

• SCHROEDER, Chief Circuit Judge:, Before:  MARY M. SCHROEDER, Chief Circuit Judge, ANDREW J. KLEINFELD and CARLOS T. BEA, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert H. Bombiner, AFPD, Seattle, WA, for the petitioner-appellant., Sheryl Gordon McCloud, Law Offices of Sheryl Gordon McCloud, Seattle, WA, for the petitioner-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Rob McKenna, Attorney General of the State of Washington, John J. Samson, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Justice Division, Olympia, WA, for the respondent-appellee.