Lopez

MEMORANDUM

Colrinto Lopez was convicted of first-degree murder under California law and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 95 years to life. In 2004, Lopez filed an amended petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . In his amended petition, he claimed that the exclusion at trial of two defense witnesses’ testimony as hearsay violated his rights to a fair trial and to present a defense under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court concluded that Lopez procedurally defaulted that claim in state court, and denied his petition. Lopez timely appealed, and this court granted a certificate of appealability on whether the claim is proeedurally barred. We review de novo the district court’s determination that it is. Griffin v. Johnson, 350 F.3d 956, 960 (9th Cir.2003).

Lopez does not dispute that in the last reasoned state-court opinion on his claim, the California Court of Appeal held that he waived any challenge to the exclusion of the witnesses’ testimony by failing to provide a rationale for the admission of the evidence at trial. Lopez argues only that California’s waiver rule is not a state ground “adequate” to bar federal habeas review.…