NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS NOV 23 2021

MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

MARTIN SALAZAR CASTRO, No. 20-15274

Petitioner-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:16-cv-01237-MMD-EJY v.

RENEE BAKER, Warden; ATTORNEY MEMORANDUM*

GENERAL FOR THE STATE OF NE-

VADA,

Respondents-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada Miranda M. Du, Chief District Judge, Presiding

Submitted November 19, 2021** San Francisco, California

Before: McKEOWN and GOULD, Circuit Judges, and MOLLOY,*** District Judge.

Martin Salazar Castro appeals the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C.

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). *** The Honorable Donald W. Molloy, United States District Judge for the District of Montana, sitting by designation. § 2254 habeas corpus petition challenging his 2010 conviction for sexual assaults,

attempted sexual assault, conspiracy to commit sexual assault, and kidnapping.

Assuming, without deciding, that the state trial court improperly denied Cas-

tro’s motion to suppress, Castro has nonetheless failed to demonstrate that the ad-

mission of his statement had a “substantial and injurious effect or influence in deter-

mining the jury’s verdict” in light of the overwhelming evidence in support of his

conviction. Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 637–38 (1993). See Cunningham

v. Wong, 704 F.3d 1143, 1165 (9th Cir. 2013) (denying habeas relief where the state

court concluded that a defendant’s statement, in which he “did not actually confess

to the crime,” was harmless, because the statement “at most” undermined the de-

fendant’s credibility). The district court therefore properly denied Castro’s petition.

See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).

Because we do not reach the question of whether Castro’s statement was in-

voluntary, Castro’s Motion to Expand the Record and Transmit Physical Exhibit,

Dkt. 18, is DENIED as moot.

AFFIRMED.

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