Steve Kassab v. William Gore

MEMORANDUM

Steve Mansour Kassab appeals from the district court’s denial of his habeas petition seeking relief from his state misdemeanor conviction for providing drug paraphernalia for use to smoke methamphetamine or cocaine. The district court certified two issues for appeal: (1) whether the trial judge denied Kassab a fair trial by limiting the testimony of his witness, Dr. Vomhoff, and (2) whether the submission of an exhibit that referenced his prior conviction in violation of a pretrial order excluding evidence of the conviction denied him a fair trial. Because we review Kassab’s case’ pursuant to AEDPA, he must show that the state court’s decision was contrary to, or unreasonably applied, clearly established Federal law or an unreasonable determination of the facts. 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d). The Supreme Court has explained that “[a] state court’s determination that a claim lacks merit precluded federal habeas relief so long as ‘fairminded jurists could disagree’ on the correctness of the state court’s decision.” Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 101 , 131 S.Ct. 770 , 178 L.Ed.2d 624 (2011) (quoting Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 664 , 124 S.Ct. 2140 , 158 L.Ed.2d 938…