Bacolod

MEMORANDUM **

Eric Bacolod was convicted in Pierce County, Washington Superior Court of three counts of first-degree assault while armed with a firearm. After unsuccessfully pursuing his remedies in state court, Bacolod filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, 28 U.S.C. § 2254 , in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Adopting the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, the district court denied the petition. Bacolod filed a timely appeal from this decision. On August 21, 2003, we granted a certificate of appealability on the issue of whether the prosecutor committed misconduct during closing argument in violation of appellant’s federal constitutional rights. We now affirm the district court’s judgment.

In response to Bacolod’s challenge to the prosecutor’s closing argument, we hold the Washington Court of Appeals’ decision on direct review neither is contrary to, nor involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d) (noting that a writ of habeas corpus cannot be granted unless the state court proceedings “(1) resulted in a…