Cruzado
Cruzado v. Crawford
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Appellant Abraham Cruzado (“Cruzado”) appeals the district court’s denial of his habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (“ § 2254”). We affirm for the reasons stated below.
The district court certified three issues for appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 2253 (c): whether Cruzado’s guilty plea to five counts of sexual assault was knowing and voluntary, whether Cruzado’s trial counsel provided ineffective assistance, and whether the district court erred in denying an evidentiary hearing on Cruzado’s claim that new counsel appointed to represent him in his plea withdrawal attempt and sentencing was also ineffective.
As to the first two questions, the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) constrains us to conduct a deferential review. We cannot grant relief unless the state corut’s adjudication of Cruzado’s claims either:
28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d).
The state court’s decision that Cruzado knowingly and voluntarily pleaded guilty involved neither an unreasonable application of law nor an unreasonable determination of facts. The record reveals that Cruzado was aware of the consequences of his guilty plea. See Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 748…