Kirch

MEMORANDUM **

Jack Kirch appeals from the judgment of the district court denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . He was convicted in California State Court of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment — the upper limit of the statutory range plus an enhancement.

The state raises for the first time on appeal the statute of limitations, now an arguable defense in this case as a result of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Evans v. Chavis, 546 U.S. 189 , 126 S.Ct. 846 , 163 L.Ed.2d 684 (2006). The petitioner’s delay of six months between the filing of his first and second state court petitions and nine months before the filing of his federal habeas petition are presumptively unreasonable pursuant to Chavis . We have no record, however, on the reasons for the delay in this case. We hold that even if the delay was reasonable, the dis *574 trict court properly denied the petition on the merits.

Petitioner first claims that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call witnesses who would have testified about passers-by taking a gun from the victim after the crime and, therefore, would have supported…