Hollins

MEMORANDUM ***

John Bradley Hollins appeals the district court’s order dismissing his Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253, and we deny the petition.

I.

Hollins was convicted in the Superior Court of the State of California for assault with a firearm and corporal injury to his longtime girlfriend and mother of his five children. He seeks habeas review on two grounds: ineffective assistance of counsel and violation of his due process rights.

Hollins first claims that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to obtain the testimony of a ballistics expert. We conclude that the failure to call a ballistics expert was neither deficient nor prejudicial. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) (holding that petitioner must demonstrate that his “counsel’s performance was deficient” and “that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense”). Hollins’ attorney concluded that a ballistics expert would be of no benefit to Hollins, basing his conclusion on 22 years of active duty as a U.S. Marine and consequent familiarity with handgun ballistics, his review of the police report, his…