Leonard Hoffman v. Frank Luna

363 F. App'x 470

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: January 25, 2010
• Docket: 09-35083
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Leonard J. Hoffman (“Hoffman”) appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Hoffman was convicted in Alaska state court of various criminal offenses including assault, sexual assault, arson, witness tampering, and interference with an official proceeding. On direct appeal, the Court of Appeals of Alaska held that the trial judge erred by not telling the lawyers about the jury note, but concluded that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. After the Court of Appeals of Alaska denied Hoffman’s state petition for a writ of habe-as corpus, Hoffman filed a federal petition. The district court denied Hoffman’s petition because the Court of Appeals of Alaska’s decision on direct appeal was not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law.

It was reasonable for the Alaska state court to conclude that the ex parte commu nications between the trial judge and the jury had no “adverse influence on the jury’s decision to listen to the testimony of the requested witnesses” and that “there was no reasonable possibility that” telling the jury the length of the requested testimony “discouraged or deterred the jury from pursuing its request.” Hoffman v. State, 950 P.2d 141, 146 (Alaska Ct.App. 1997). Therefore, applying the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, we must defer to the state court’s determination. See Mitchell v. Esparza, 540 U.S. 12, 17-18, 124 S.Ct. 7, 157 L.Ed.2d 268 (2008). The district court properly denied federal habeas relief.

AFFIRMED.

** This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.