Marcus Pulliam v. Domingo Uribe, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Marcus Pulliam appeals from the district court’s rulings denying his writ of habeas corpus and denying a certificate of appealability. Pulliam was originally convicted in California state court for the murders of Clifton and Raymond Jones. Pulliam’s federal habeas corpus petition was filed after he had exhausted his direct state appeals, and the California Supreme Court denied his petition for habeas relief under state law. We granted Pulliam’s Request for a Certificate of Appealability on a single issue: Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to present' readily available evidence showing that the key prosecution witness lied about actually seeing the shooting and also tampered with the crime scene before the police arrived. We affirm, and further hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing.

We review the district court’s denial of a writ of habeas corpus de novo. Cheney v. Washington, 614 F.3d 987, 993 (9th Cir.2010). Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d), the availability of federal habeas relief is limited with respect to claims previously adjudicated on the merits in state court proceedings, even when…