Juan Bravo v. Raul Lopez

MEMORANDUM

Juan Bravo was found guilty in Los Angeles County Superior Court of assaulting a public official. After exhausting his state court remedies, Petitioner brought this action under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1), asserting that the trial court’s decision pursuant to state rules of evidence to exclude the testimony of a forensic psychologist violated his due process right to present a complete defense. Finding no constitutional infirmity in the trial court’s ruling, the U.S. district court denied Petitioner’s application for habeas relief.

This Court reviews the district court’s application of § 2254 de novo. Lunbery v. Hornbeak, 605 F.3d 754, 759 (9th Cir. 2010). Petitioner is entitled to relief only if the state trial court’s decision constituted an objectively unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 520-21 , 123 S.Ct. 2527 , 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003). Because the evidentiary ruling at issue here steers well clear of that mark, we agree with the district court below.

In this case, the state court exercised its discretion in a reasoned and routine manner to exclude evidence which it deemed irrelevant, prejudicial, and likely to…