Jay Johnson v. A. Kane

MEMORANDUM

California state prisoner Johnson appeals from the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied Johnson’s petition, but granted a certificate of appealability on two issues.

Johnson also presents issues in his brief that were not included in the certificate of appealability which we construe as a motion to expand the certificate of appealability. Fed. R.App. P. Circuit Rule 22-l(e). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253. We review the denial of Johnson’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus de novo. Smith v. Curry, 580 F.3d 1071, 1079 (9th Cir.2009). We deny Johnson’s motion to expand the certificate of appealability and affirm the denial of Johnson’s petition.

I

In his first uncertified issue, Johnson contends that the district court erred in denying his claim that the trial court violated his rights when it refused to allow him to change his plea from not guilty to not guilty by reason of insanity after the trial had already begun. Johnson has cited no Supreme Court authority for the proposition that a criminal defendant has a…