Reynaldo Ayala v. Kevin Chappell

Reynaldo Medrano Ayala appeals from the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Ayala was convicted of triple homicide in 1988, and he is currently on death row in California. He argues that his trial was fundamentally unfair, and federal ha-beas relief is therefore warranted, primarily because his lawyer unreasonably failed to impeach the prosecution’s key witnesses with evidence that would have undermined them credibility. Ayala also claims that the State concealed evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 , 83 S.Ct. 1194 , 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), that a San Diego police officer threatened and intimidated witnesses, and that the trial court committed several constitutional errors. Because we conclude the California Supreme Court’s resolution of Ayala’s claims was not contrary to clearly established federal law, we affirm the district court’s denial of the petition for writ of habeas corpus.

BACKGROUND

I. Facts

On April 26, 1985, Jose Rositas, Marcos Zamora, and Ernesto Dominguez Mendez (“Dominguez”) were murdered execution-style in an auto body shop located on 43rd Street in San Diego, California.…