Ruezga

MEMORANDUM **

David Ruezga (“Ruezga”) was convicted by a California jury of three counts of attempted murder and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle, with enhancements for discharging a firearm and for causing great bodily injury to one of the victims. Ruezga appeals from the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Applying the deferential standard of review mandated by the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”), see 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d), we affirm.

The California Court of Appeal did not unreasonably apply established Supreme Court law when it concluded that Ruezga failed to demonstrate prejudice on account of any of his counsel’s alleged deficiencies, as required by Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), and AEDPA. First, although Ruezga’s attorney acted incompetently by failing to request a jury instruction on antecedent threats, to which Ruezga was entitled under California law, see People v. Moore, 43 Cal.2d 517 , 275 P.2d 485, 492 (1954), we cannot say, in light of the jury’s rejection of imperfect self-defense and in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt, that…