Almager

Opinion by Judge ADELMAN; Concurrence by Judge SILVERMAN; Dissent by Judge TASHIMA.

OPINION

Petitioner-Appellant Derrick Loftis seeks a writ of habeas corpus challenging his California conviction of second degree murder. The district court denied the petition, but we issued a certificate of appeal-ability regarding whether there was a sufficient factual basis to support Loftis’s no contest plea and whether his plea was knowing and voluntary. We now affirm.

I. FACTS AND BACKGROUND

The pertinent facts, as set forth in the state appellate court’s opinion, are as follows:

People v. Loftis, No. F050676, 2007 WL 1248492 , at *1 (Cal.Ct.App. May 1, 2007).

Initially charged with murder in the death of Celina V., along with four other counts, Loftis later agreed to plead no contest to second degree murder in exchange for dismissal of the other charges. The state trial court conducted a thorough plea colloquy, ensuring that Loftis understood the nature of the charges, the penalties he faced and the rights he was relinquishing. The following exchange then occurred:

Id. at *3. The trial court then verified that Loftis understood his no contest plea and accepted it. At no point did…

concurring in the result:

Chief Judge Kozinski recently designated a separate opinion of his, not as a dissent or a partial concurrence, but as a “disagree[ment] with everyone.” Garfias- Rodriguez v. Holder, 702 F.3d 504 (9th Cir.2012). I chuckled at the time, but not any more. I now find myself in the posi *653 tion of agreeing with the result reached by-Judge Adelman affirming the denial of a writ of habeas corpus, but only with the result; agreeing with the portion of Judge Tashima’s dissent demonstrating the constitutional requirement of a factual basis to support a People v. Wesi-type no contest plea; but ultimately disagreeing with Judge Tashima about whether there was, indeed, a factual basis in this case for second degree murder under California law.

I start with Judge Tashima. I agree with him that a factual basis is required for an Alford plea or a no contest plea entered pursuant to People v. West, 3 Cal.3d 595 , 91 Cal.Rptr. 385 , 477 P.2d 409 (1970), California’s analogue to Alford. As Judge Tashima cogently shows, a court taking a no contest or Alford-type plea must satisfy itself that there is a factual basis to believe that the defendant is, indeed, guilty of the…

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent. Derrick Loftis committed a despicable act when he sold drugs to a young girl. But that act, plus the fact that the girl later died in his presence, is insufficient to support a murder conviction. Given the nature of Loftis’ plea, the stark disconnect between the facts and the plea raises a substantial constitutional issue. Loftis’ West plea was tantamount to a claim of innocence, and the trial court thus violated clearly established federal law when it failed to identify any factual basis for the plea. This error had a substantial and injurious effect on the proceedings because nothing in the record suggests that Loftis acted with knowledge that he was endangering human life. I would, thus, grant Loftis’ ha-beas petition.

I

According to the state court probation report, 1 Loftis admitted to police that he *655 sold crystal meth to fifteen-year-old Cele-na V., and that after she consumed the crystal meth she “began to get ‘crazy ’ by freaking out, getting hot and shaking.” Richard Banuelos gave Celena some milk. Celena did not improve, but Loftis, Banue-los, Leslie Saiz, and Celena headed to a casino. On the way there, Loftis noticed that…

I. FACTS AND BACKGROUND

The pertinent facts, as set forth in the state appellate court’s opinion, are as follows:

On February 27, 2004, [Loftis] and Richard Banuelos received a telephone call from 15-year-old Celena V. She informed them she wanted to buy an eight-ball of crystal methamphetamine. They went to pick her up and she got into the vehicle. They drove to the Holiday Lodge, where defendant kept his bag of methamphetamine. [Loftis] and Celena were in a room alone. Celena bought the methamphetamine from defendant for $100, then she smoked and snorted some of it. [Loftis] also consumed some with her. [Loftis] and Celena had been in the room for about 45 minutes when Celena began to “get ‘crazy’ by freaking out, getting hot and shaking.” Banuelos called and asked [Loftis] if they were ready to go. Banuelos arrived and the three of them left together. They went to [Loftis’s] residence and Banuelos gave Celena some milk.

Leslie Saiz arrived at the residence. [Loftis] wanted to go to the Palace casino to look for his girlfriend. Although Celena had not improved, [Loftis] did not take her to the hospital just down the street because “it never crossed his mind.” Instead, the…