Deloach

MEMORANDUM *

1. After killing Patrick Hall, William DeLoach was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. The California courts held that, by his cross-examination of prosecution witness Darbyshire, DeLoach’s trial counsel “opened the door” to evidence of De-Loach’s bad character and Hall’s good character under Cal. Evid.Code § 1103. While this ruling may have been a mistake under California law, see People v. Gin Shue, 58 Cal.App.2d 625 , 137 P.2d 742, 474-48 (1943), a mistake of state law does not create grounds for granting a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . We may grant a habeas writ only if a state court’s determination is contrary to or involved an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court. See id. § 2254(d)(1).

DeLoach credibly argues that the California courts allowed DeLoach to be tried partly on the basis of propensity evidence. But the Supreme Court has specifically left open the question of whether a state law allowing the use of propensity evidence would violate the Due Process Clause. See Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62 , 75 n. 5, 112 S.Ct. 475 , 116 L.Ed.2d 385 (1991). We therefore cannot say that the…