Whiteley

MEMORANDUM **

Idaho state prisoner Michael D. Whiteley (“Whiteley”) appeals the dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. Whiteley alleges that his counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to contact and present potential trial witnesses, and that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions for the kidnaping and rape of Sylvia Cánido Gonzales (“Cánido”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253, and we affirm.

We review a district court’s denial of a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition de novo. Clark v. Murphy, 331 F.3d 1062, 1067 (9th Cir.2003). Because Whiteley’s petition was filed after April 24, 1996, it is governed by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”). See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 481 , 120 S.Ct. 1595 , 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000).

Whiteley first argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. A petitioner claiming insufficiency of the evidence must show that “upon the record evidence adduced at the trial, no rational trier of fact could have found proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 324 , 99 S.Ct. 2781 , 61…