Cooper

MEMORANDUM *

Petitioner Rodney Cooper appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He challenges his state court conviction for attempted first- *258 degree murder, arguing that his due process rights were violated because the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to establish two elements of the crime: 1) premeditation, and 2) malice.

On October 24, 1995, three officers of the Fresno Police Department were driving in an unmarked car through southwest Fresno. As their car approached an intersection, the officer who was driving realized that he needed to turn around, and executed a U-turn at the intersection. The car’s headlights swept over a group of persons walking on the sidewalk. As the car made the turn, the officers saw a man in a yellow jacket reach into the waistband of his pants, pull out a handgun, and aim it at the car. The officers took cover and heard the sound of two shots being fired. When the officers next looked, the man in the yellow jacket was standing behind a tree nearby. One of the officers fired four shots at him, and two shots were returned from an unknown source. The officers then drove away from the scene.…