Jared Villery v. Kim Holland

MEMORANDUM

Jared Villery appeals from the district court’s order denying his petition for review under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . After a jury trial, Villery and his co-defendant were convicted of seven counts of false imprisonment, two counts of attempted first degree robbery, and one count of first degree burglary for conduct arising out of a home invasion. The jury acquitted Villery of four counts of kidnaping. Villery was sentenced to 28 years, 4 months in prison. Villery appealed his sentence to the California Court of Appeal, arguing that the prosecutor committed misconduct by referring to the 9/11 attacks during closing arguments. The California Court of Appeal found that the prosecutor’s actions constituted misconduct under California law, but did not violate federal law because the conduct did not infect the trial with such unfairness as to make Villery’s conviction a denial of due process. People v. Zurinaga, 148 Cal.App.4th 1248, 1258 , 56 Cal.Rptr.8d 411 (2007); Donnelly v. De-Christoforo, 416 U.S. 637, 643 , 94 S.Ct. 1868 , 40 L.Ed.2d 431 (1974). The California Court of Appeal’s decision was neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of established federal law. We…