Herman

MEMORANDUM **

Daniel Herman, an Alaska state prisoner, appeals pro se the district court’s denial *809 of his petition for habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Herman was convicted of second degree murder arising from the stabbing death of Clint Cole in Herman’s home in Red Devil, Alaska. The Alaska Court of Appeals denied Herman’s appeal, and the Alaska Supreme Court summarily denied his petition for rehearing. To obtain relief under § 2254, Herman must show that the state court decision was “contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1); see Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 412-13 , 120 S.Ct. 1495 , 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). We review the decision of the Alaska Court of Appeals as the last reasoned decision of the state court. Ylst v. Nunnemaker, 501 U.S. 797, 804 , 111 S.Ct. 2590 , 115 L.Ed.2d 706 (1991).

The certified issue is whether the state court violated Herman’s federal constitutional rights by allowing the jury to use a “variable speed” tape recorder during deliberations…