Ambrose

MEMORANDUM ***

*964 In this proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 , Petitioner John Francis Ambrose makes three claims. None persuades us.

1. Self-Defense Instruction

Petitioner first claims that the California trial court’s failure, sua sponte, to instruct the jury on his theory that he had resisted arrest in self-defense violated his due process rights. Under California law, self-defense is not a viable defense to a charge of willfully resisting arrest in violation of section 148(a)(1) of the California Penal Code unless the arresting officer used excessive force. People v. Jones, 119 Cal.App.3d 749 , 174 Cal.Rptr. 218, 222 (Ct. App.1981).

The jury was instructed that Petitioner’s arrest was not lawful if the officers used excessive force and that, to convict Petitioner, the jury had to find that the' officers were engaged in their lawful duties. Therefore, in convicting Petitioner, the jury necessarily found, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the arrest was lawful and that no excessive force had been used. Under California law, those findings (which are not challenged in this collateral proceeding) foreclose any reliance on a theory of self-defense. The failure to instruct…