Ron Werth v. James Yates

MEMORANDUM

California state prisoner Michael Werth appeals from the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition seeking to vacate his convictions for murder in the course of a burglary and attempted robbery, two counts of attempted murder, and various firearm allegations, for which he was sentenced to life without possibility of parole. We review the district court’s decision de novo, Runningeagle v. Ryan, 686 F.3d 758, 766 (9th Cir.2012), and affirm.

1. Even if a Confrontation Clause violation occurred with regard to the introduction of statements made by Werth’s non-testifying codefendant, David Trujillo, through the testimony of three witnesses at trial, the error in admitting the statements did not have a “substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury’s verdict.” Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 623 , 113 S.Ct. 1710 , 123 L.Ed.2d 353 (1993) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Ocampo v. Vail, 649 F.3d 1098, 1114 (9th Cir.2011), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 62 , 183 L.Ed.2d 712 (2012) (No. 11-614).

One of the challenged statements came in through the testimony of confessed accomplice, John Fjelstad, whose recorded…