Young

*321 MEMORANDUM **

Donald Young appeals the district court’s denial of his habeas petition, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . Young was convicted of corporal injury of a cohabitant and of endangering the health of a child, violations of California Penal Code section 273.5(a) and 273a(b). The trial court instructed the jury that if it found by a preponderance of the evidence that Young engaged in a domestic violence offense on occasions other than in the charged offense, it could infer that Young had a disposition to commit this type of offense. On direct appeal, Young challenged his conviction on the ground, among others, that the jury instructions regarding prior offenses violated his due process rights by impermissibly relieving the prosecution of its burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The California Court of Appeal, while noting that it was questionable whether Young had properly objected to the jury instructions, rejected Young’s due process argument on the merits and affirmed his conviction.

Young filed the instant habeas petition alleging multiple grounds for relief, including the due process challenge to jury instructions regarding prior offenses. The…