Francisco Olivares v. J. Soto

MEMORANDUM

Francisco Olivares appeals the dismissal of his petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for relief from his California conviction. Reviewing de novo, we affirm.

Olivares argues that the admission of extrajudicial statements by his non-testifying co-defendant violated his rights under the Confrontation Clause. “Because the state court has already established that a trial error occurred and the constitutional dimension of the error turns entirely on the issue of prejudice,” we review de novo for harmless error. Deck v. Jenkins, 768 F.3d 1015, 1022 (9th Cir.2014). Because the statements did not link Olivares to the crime or to the vehicle used in the commission of the crime, and given the other evidence implicating Olivares in the shooting and the lack of importance placed on the statement by the prosecution, the trial court’s error in admitting the statements did not have a “substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury’s verdict,” Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 638 , 113 S.Ct. 1710 , 123 L.Ed.2d 353 (1993), and we are without “grave doubt as to the harmlessness of [the] error,” Deck, 768 F.3d at 1022 (quoting O’Neal v. McAninch, 513 U.S. 432, 437 ,…