Coley

MEMORANDUM **

Raashan Coley appeals the district’s court denial of his petition for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

The district court determined that Coley procedurally defaulted his claims because he did not fairly present them in state court and the time to do so had expired. Coley v. Belleque, No. 03-569-HO, 2006 WL 1007248 , at *1 (D.Or. Apr.13, 2006). The district court also held that Coley’s petition would fail on the merits even if he had not procedurally defaulted. Id. at * 1-2 .

We review de novo a district court’s order denying a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Lopez v. Thompson, 202 F.3d 1110, 1116 (9th Cir.2000) (en banc). Because Coley filed his petition after April 24, 1996, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) governs the scope of our review of the state court’s decision. Under AEDPA, we may directly address the merits of a habeas petition, without considering whether a petitioner’s claims were properly exhausted in the state courts, “only when it is perfectly clear that the applicant does not raise even a colorable federal claim.” Cassett v. Stewart, 406…