Bryant Williams v. Gary Swarthout

MEMORANDUM

On October 23, 2014, we filed an opinion reversing the district court’s denial of Williams’s petition for writ of habeas corpus and directing the district court to grant the writ. See Williams v. Swarthout, 771 F.3d 501, 509-10 (9th Cir.2014). We stayed the mandate while the Supreme Court considered Davis v. Ayala. The Supreme Court has since issued its opinion in Ayala. See — U.S. -, 135 S.Ct. 2187 , 192 L.Ed.2d 323 (2015). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We withdraw our former opinion and affirm the district court.

According to Williams, the California Court of Appeal determined that the trial court committed constitutional error by instructing the jury that Williams had pled guilty, but concluded that the error was harmless. Williams misreads the state court’s opinion. Under California law, an alleged improper influence on the jury rises to a due process violation only if it was ‘“inherently and substantially likely to have influenced a juror.’ ” People v. Ramos, 34 Cal.4th 494 , 21 Cal.Rptr.3d 575 , 101 P.3d 478, 497 (2004) (quoting People v. Nesler, 16 Cal.4th 561 , 66 Cal.Rptr.2d 454 , 941 P.2d 87, 99 (1997)). Here, the state court of appeal…