Opinion

DeSosa v. Brown

  • 357 F. App'x 901
Court
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Filed
Dec 14, 2009
Status
Published
On the bench
Alarcón, Tashima, Trott
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 10.9%

The opinion

MEMORANDUM **

California state prisoner Dana DeSosa appeals from the district court’s judgment denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we affirm.

*902 DeSosa contends that trial counsel was ineffective in eliciting damaging testimony from a defense investigator. However, counsel’s strategic decision to bring out inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case through the defense investigator’s testimony was not unreasonable. The district court did not err in concluding that DeSosa failed to establish either deficient performance or resulting prejudice under the standard announced in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).

DeSosa further contends that his “Three Strikes” sentence of twenty-five years to life constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Given the circumstances of the offense and of DeSosa’s prior convictions, we cannot say that the California Court of Appeal unreasonably applied federal law when it determined that DeSosa’s sentence was not grossly disproportionate. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1); Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63, 72-73 , 123 S.Ct. 1166 , 155 L.Ed.2d 144 (2003); see also Rios v. Garcia, 390 F.3d 1082, 1086 (9th Cir.2004) (upholding “Three Strikes” sentence of twenty-five years to life for felony petty theft where petitioner struggled with loss prevention officer and prior robbery strikes involved threat of violence).

AFFIRMED.

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.