Vincent Santana v. Dwight Neven

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Vincent Mark Santana appeals from the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . Reviewing de novo the district court’s decision, Robinson v. Schriro, 595 F.3d 1086, 1099 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 566 , 178 L.Ed.2d 427 (2010), we affirm.

1. In state habeas proceedings, Petitioner alleged that, during voir dire, the prosecutor “repeatedly” questioned potential jurors about whether they had children and that his lawyer failed to object to those questions. Petitioner argued that the failure to object constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. The state court determined that Petitioner “failed to demonstrate that he was prejudiced by his counsel’s failure to object.” See Hibbler v. Benedetti, 693 F.3d 1140, 1149 (9th Cir. 2012) (“In order to establish ineffective assistance ..., a defendant must show both deficient performance and prejudice.” (internal quotation marks omitted)). That determination neither involved an unreasonable application of clearly established law nor resulted in a decision premised on an unreasonable application of the facts in light of the evidence…