Hernandez

MEMORANDUM **

Jesse Dale Hernandez appeals pro se the district court’s order denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus petition challenging his California convictions for first degree murder and robbery. We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo the district court’s dismissal of Hernandez’s habeas petition, see Patterson v. Stewart, 251 F.3d 1243, 1245 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 122 S.Ct. 406 , 151 L.Ed.2d 308 (2001), and we affirm.

The district court granted a certificate of probable cause to Hernandez. However, a certificate of appealability (“COA”) is required for habeas appeals initiated after the effective date of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), even when the petition was filed in district court prior to the effective date. See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 481-82 , 120 S.Ct. 1595 , 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000). We must apply Slack here because Hernandez filed his notice of appeal (“NOA”) after AEDPA’s effective date, and will treat it as a request for a COA. See Schell v. Witek, 218 F.3d 1017 , 1021 fn. 4 (9th Cir.2000). “To obtain a COA under [28 U.S.C.] § 2253(c), a habeas prisoner must make a substantial…