Hurtado

MEMORANDUM *

The facts and procedural history of this case are known to the parties, and we do not repeat them here. California prisoner Marco Antonio Hurtado appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 , which *725 was denied on the ground that the constitutional claims relevant to this appeal were procedurally defaulted. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we affirm.

Federal courts will not review a question of federal law decided by a state court if that court explicitly invokes a state procedural bar as the basis for its decision, and that procedural bar constitutes an independent and adequate ground. Hill v. Roe, 321 F.3d 787, 789 (9th Cir.2003). Where, as in this case, the California Supreme Court has denied a petition for habeas review with a citation to In re Waltreus, 62 Cal.2d 218 , 42 Cal.Rptr. 9 , 397 P.2d 1001 (1965), we must “look through” this denial to previous state court decisions to determine the explanation for the denial of the claims. See Forrest v. Vasquez, 75 F.3d 562, 564 (9th Cir.1996) (discussing Ylst v. Nunnemaker, 501 U.S. 797, 805 , 111 S.Ct. 2590 , 115 L.Ed.2d 706 (1991)). Here, the…