UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 SEAN ALAN O’BRIEN, No. 2:10-cv-02472 MCE CKD (HC) Petitioner, v. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS LELAND McEWEN, Warden, Respondent.
I. Introduction Petitioner commenced this federal habeas action in 2010, challenging his 2006 conviction for first degree murder with special circumstances, resulting in a sentence of life without parole, plus ten years. The conviction was based on the murder of Kyle Smelser in 2003, when petitioner was sixteen years old. On April 16, 2014, the district judge adopted August 19, 2013 findings and recommendations and denied the petition. A certificate of appealability was issued as to whether petitioner’s trial attorney, James Clark, rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. On August 23, 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part, remanding for an evidentiary hearing with respect to several sub-claims of ineffective assistance. This hearing was…