Stewart

MEMORANDUM **

Lewis Stewart appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . We affirm.

Stewart argues that he was denied the effective assistance of appellate counsel on his direct appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court when counsel failed to pursue Sixth Amendment claims arising out of a request *631 to substitute counsel and for a continuance at trial. However, the supreme court’s determination was not contrary to federal law clearly established in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), or based upon an unreasonable determination of the facts. Stewart mentioned the possibility of retaining counsel on the eve of trial. New counsel was not present, and there was no indication of when (or if) counsel would be retained and prepared to proceed. In these circumstances it was not unreasonable for the supreme court to find no abuse of discretion.

The district court’s treatment of Stewart’s mixed petition was consistent with Rhinos v. Weber, 544 U.S. 269 , 125 S.Ct. 1528, 1534-35 , 161 L.Ed.2d 440 (2005), as it simply closed Stewart’s federal habeas action administratively, allowing…