Chanh Minh Dang v. Giurbino

MEMORANDUM

Chanh Minh Dang, a California state prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of his writ of habeas corpus. He was sentenced by a superior court judge of the state of California to ninety-one years in prison for offenses arising out of his treatment of his girlfriend and her supporters. His acts were criminal. The sentence was gargantuan. Our review is neither of his crimes nor of his sentence, but of the competence of his counsel. In this review, our own competence is sharply circumscribed by Congress.

We review de novo the district court’s denial of habeas corpus. Cavitt v. Cullen, 728 F.3d 1000, 1004 (9th Cir.2013). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 (a), and we affirm.

1. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Investigation Claim.

Conceding that 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d) applies to this claim, Dang alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present an exculpatory witness, Hanh Sarangabany.

We conclude that even if Dang’s trial counsel had, in fact, been deficient, there is no reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s failure, the result of the proceeding would have been different. See Strickland v. Washington,…