Estrada

I. BACKGROUND

A. Underlying Facts of Crime

On July 16, 1997, Dennis Morgan was found stabbed to death in the driveway of his parents’ home in El Centro, CA. Petitioner Julio Estrada testified that he was hitchhiking in Calexico when Morgan offered him a ride in his car. Accord- ing to Estrada, Morgan offered that if Estrada would return to Morgan’s house that night, Morgan would help Estrada get a bus ticket to San Bernardino the next day. Estrada went to Morgan’s house, where Morgan sought to have sex with Estrada.

According to Estrada, he attempted to leave, but Morgan blocked the door. Estrada grabbed a knife from the kitchen. Morgan blocked his path and tried to grab the knife away. Estrada swung at Morgan and then, according to Estrada, Morgan “impaled himself” on the knife. Estrada left the apart- ment, drove away in Morgan’s car and was later stopped by 1 Estrada also seeks to brief three issues that the district court considered and rejected without issuing a certificate of appealability — namely, that 1) Estrada was deprived of a constitutional jury selection procedure, 2) the trial court erroneously allowed evidence of Estrada’s prior robbery convic- tion, and 3)…