Gutierrez

MEMORANDUM **

Gutierrez pled guilty in California state court to several counts of attempted murder and other lesser charges, after leading the police on a lengthy car chase during which he shot several times at the officers. We affirm the district court’s denial of his habeas petition.

1. Gutierrez has not established that his trial counsel, Rita Smith, performed deficiently. The district court’s findings that she considered the voluntary intoxication defense and discussed'it with Gutierrez before he pled guilty are supported by the record and are not clearly erroneous. See McClure v. Thompson, 323 F.3d 1233, 1240 (9th Cir.2003). Gutierrez presented no evidence to the contrary at the evidentiary hearing. That Smith lacked contemporaneous notes confirming her testimony on this matter is insufficient to create “a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed” by the district court. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

Nor was Smith’s advice that the voluntary intoxication defense would not be successful an unreasonable one. Gutierrez made inconsistent statements about his use of drugs and alcohol during the police chase. Although he did state that he had…