Samuel

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 AMIT BHARTH, No. 2:23-cv-0259 DJC AC P Petitioner, v. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS DANNY SAMUEL, Warden, Respondent. 16 Petitioner is a California state prisoner proceeding through counsel with an application for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The action proceeds on a petition challenging petitioner’s 2019 conviction for rape and related offenses. ECF No. 1. Respondent has answered, ECF No. 11, and petitioner has filed a traverse, ECF No. 16. BACKGROUND I. Proceedings in the Trial Court A. The Evidence Presented at Trial1 1. Prosecution Case In late January 2017, C.D. was 24 years old and staying at a friend’s house in Sacramento. One evening she approached a man, later identified as petitioner, in a parking lot and asked to use 27 This factual summary is adapted from the opinion of the California Court of Appeal, ECF No. 10-9 at 2-3.…