Damian Alcantara v. Ron Rackley

MEMORANDUM

Alcantara was convicted in California of second degree murder and street terrorism based on an incident in which he and two gang members assaulted a rival gang member with a stun gun, resulting in the death by stabbing of the rival gang member. He appeals from the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus on the basis of alleged errors in the jury instructions and ineffective assistance of counsel. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253 . Applying the standard of review set out in the Antiterrorism Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d), we affirm.

Alcantara’s challenges to the jury instructions raise only state law claims that are not cognizable on federal habeas, unless they deprived Alcantara of a fundamentally fair trial. See Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 72-73 , 112 S.Ct. 475 , 116 L.Ed.2d 385 (1991). Under California Penal Code § 1111, a defendant may not be convicted based solely on the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice. At trial, Sanchez, an accomplice wit ness, testified against Alcantara. Alcantara argues that the trial court violated California Penal Code § 1111 by instructing the jury that an accomplice is “a…