Headley

MEMORANDUM *

Petitioner Mark Headley appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging his 1985 California state conviction for murder. Headley alleges that a series of blunders and pervasive incompetence by his trial defense counsel violated his Sixth Amendment guarantee to effective assistance of counsel. The district court — as well as state and appeals courts below — found that *189 defense counsel’s performance was deficient in a number of respects, but that Headley had not demonstrated prejudice as required under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Headley argues that counsel’s ineptitude was so pervasive that prejudice should be presumed under United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 659 , 104 S.Ct. 2089 , 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984). Alternatively, if Cronic does not apply, Headley argues that ineffectiveness of counsel in two areas — regarding (1) the admission of drug use/motive evidence and (2) counsel’s treatment of third-party culpability evidence — establish prejudice under Strickland . We affirm. Since the parties are familiar with the facts and procedural history, they will not be…