Joaquin Padin v. A. Lamarque

Petitioner Joaquin Leon Padin appeals the federal district court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his state court conviction for second-degree murder. This court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we affirm the judgment of the district court.

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) allows for habeas relief only if the state court’s decision was contrary to or unreasonably applied clearly established federal law as de termined by the Supreme Court, or was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceeding. 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1),(2).

Padin contends that the kite should not have been admitted at trial because it directly implicated him and was not redacted to omit all reference to his identity. Although the Supreme Court in Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 , 88 S.Ct. 1620 , 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968) held that in certain circumstances an admission by a codefendant could not be admitted in a joint trial, in Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200 , 107 S.Ct. 1702 , 95 L.Ed.2d 176 (1987), the court indicated that the admission must expressly implicate…