John Bejarano v. William Reubart

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

JOHN BEJARANO, No. 11-99000

Petitioner-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:98-cv-01016- v. PMP-RJJ

WILLIAM REUBART, Warden,

OPINION

Respondent-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada Philip M. Pro, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted January 23, 2024 Pasadena, California

Filed May 2, 2025

Before: Kim McLane Wardlaw, Johnnie B. Rawlinson, and Ryan D. Nelson, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge R. Nelson; Concurrence by Judge Wardlaw SUMMARY *

Habeas Corpus / Death Penalty

The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of John Bejarano’s habeas corpus petition challenging his Nevada conviction and death sentence for first-degree murder, robbery, and other felonies. In his first certified claim, Bejarano argued that the district court wrongly denied him an evidentiary hearing. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2), Bejarano was required to exercise due diligence in developing the factual predicate for his claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. He failed to do so when…