Heiden

MEMORANDUM **

John Wesley Heiden, an Arizona state prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition, challenging his conviction for multiple counts of sexual contact with a minor. Heiden contends that the state trial court violated his federal due process right to fully present a defense by excluding expert testimony regarding the reliability of his confession. We disagree.

In his direct appeal from the Arizona trial court, Heiden did not explicitly refer to federal due process, cite the United States Constitution, or cite any cases directly addressing federal due process. Ordinarily this would render the federal due process claim unexhausted, and bar us from considering it on habeas review. See *414 Fields v. Waddington, 401 F.3d 1018, 1021 (9th Cir.2005).

In Baldwin v. Reese, 541 U.S. 27 , 124 S.Ct. 1347 , 158 L.Ed.2d 64 (2004), however, the United States Supreme Court left open the possibility that raising a state constitutional claim may exhaust the corresponding federal constitutional claim where the standards for deciding the two are identical. See Casey v. Moore, 386 F.3d 896, 914 (9th Cir.2004). Heiden argues that we must now decide…