Owens

MEMORANDUM *

Frank Owens appeals the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. Owens claims that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel because his trial lawyer failed to investigate and present a potentially meritorious mental-state defense. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253. We reverse and remand to the district court for an evidentiary hearing on Owens’ ineffective assistance of counsel claim.

Although the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) limits a district court’s discretion to conduct evidentiary hearings, see 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (e)(2), Owens’ request for a hearing is governed by pre-AEDPA standards because he was diligent in seeking to develop the factual basis of his claim in state court. See Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 420, 435 , 120 S.Ct. 1479 , 146 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000); Baja v. Ducharme, 187 F.3d 1075, 1078 (9th Cir.1999). Owens raised the ineffective assistance of counsel claim in his state habeas petitions and filed a traverse at the state appellate level opposing the State’s return. Therefore, he sought “an evidentiary hearing in state court in the manner prescribed…