Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cv-02151/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cv-02151-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 28:2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (State)

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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

EDGAR PATINO, 

Petitioner, 

v. 

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF 

CALIFORNIA, 

Respondent. 

Case No. 19-cv-02151-EMC 

ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR 

WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS 

I. INTRODUCTION 

Edgar Patino filed this action for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 to 

challenge his conviction and sentence from Alameda County Superior Court. Respondent has 

filed an answer to the petition, and Mr. Patino has filed a traverse. For the reasons discussed 

below, the petition is denied. 

II. BACKGROUND 

A. The Crime 

The California Court of Appeal described the evidence presented at trial: 

Around the summer of 2011, Y.B. and Patino started dating. At that 

time, Y.B. had two daughters from a prior marriage, Doe, born in 

2000, and a younger daughter, born in 2002; they lived together with 

Y.B.’s relatives in Milpitas. Toward the end of 2011, Y.B. and her 

daughters moved in with Patino in Hayward. . . . 

Doe moved with her mother and her younger sister to Hayward to 

live with Patino when Doe was in sixth grade. She lived with Patino 

in Hayward for part of sixth and seventh grade, when she was 11 

and 12 years old. Doe would get home from school around 2:00 

p.m. Patino would then generally get home around 3:00 p.m., and 

Y.B. would get home around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. 

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Doe testified that Patino touched her vagina more than 20 times 

while she lived with him at the Hillview residence. The conduct 

began one day after Patino, Y.B., Doe, and Doe’s younger sister all 

went to a laundromat to do laundry. There was something white on 

Doe’s underwear, and Patino commented that it probably meant Doe 

had an infection. Patino and Doe went home from the laundromat in 

one car, and Y.B. and Doe’s younger sister were in another car. 

When Doe and Patino got home, Patino told Doe to go in her 

bedroom, and he was going to check if she had an infection. Doe sat 

on the bed with her pants and underwear off. Patino observed her 

pubic hair and told her it needed to be shaved. Then he got a 

battery-powered razor from his bedroom and shaved her. He told 

her to finish shaving herself, and she did.3 Patino did not tell Doe at 

that time whether he thought she had an infection. Doe thought she 

was 11 years old when this occurred. 

[Footnote 3:] Doe testified that Patino shaved her again one 

time when she was taking a shower. This incident was 

corroborated by Y.B., who recalled on one occasion, she 

came home from work, and Doe’s younger sister told her 

that Patino had gone into the bathroom while Doe was in the 

shower. Y.B. was going to ask Doe about it, but Patino 

came in the room and said they were all liars and he could 

end up in jail. Y.B. asked Doe what happened, and Doe 

seemed “really scared” and said that nothing happened, that 

Patino had come into the bathroom and showed her how to 

shave herself but he did not touch her in any inappropriate 

way. 

Within a few weeks of this incident, Patino told Doe he needed to 

check her again to see if her infection was getting worse. Y.B. was 

at work when this happened. Patino did this many times. It would 

happen in Patino and Y.B.’s bedroom with the door closed. Doe 

testified Patino would “look around to see if he saw anything that 

wasn't right” and touch her vagina with his fingers. Patino would 

tell her he thought she had an infection because it did not smell 

right. He never took her to a doctor, however. 

Patino also used his mouth and thumb on Doe’s vagina. Doe 

testified Patino licked her vagina and told her “it would help the 

infection and it would help me get tighter.” Patino told Doe her 

vagina was not tight enough, and if she had an orgasm, it would help 

her vagina get tighter. She testified Patino’s tongue would go inside 

her vagina and “it was everywhere on my vagina.” This happened 

many times, starting when Doe was still in sixth grade and 

continuing through the summer and into seventh grade. Patino 

would also press his thumb in her vagina, and he told Doe “pressing 

the loose skin inside would help” her vagina get tighter. Sometime 

it would hurt. This happened “[n]ot so often” but more than once. 

Patino continued this conduct until Doe moved away to live with her 

grandmother. He touched her at least once a month for about a year. 

Patino would ask Doe when she was having her period, and he did 

not touch her during that time. What he did most frequently was 

“putting his mouth and tongue on [Doe’s] vagina.” Doe asked 

Patino why they did not tell Y.B. about what Patino was doing, and 

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he said Y.B. would not understand why he was doing it. Doe 

testified that she did not tell her mother herself about what Patino 

was doing because her mother would not believe her. Doe had told 

her mother about Patino telling her to get in the shower with him, 

and her mother had not believed her.4 

[Footnote 4:] At trial, Doe testified that she showered with 

Patino on two occasions because he told her to get in the 

shower with him. One time, she wore a bra and underwear, 

the other time she was naked. Both times, Patino wore 

boxers. On one of those occasions, Patino kissed Doe. 

Defense

Patino called five character witnesses. These witnesses testified 

generally that they had seen Patino around children or they had 

known him when they were children, and they did not see him 

behave inappropriately with children, and they did not believe he 

was a sexual deviant with children. 

People v. Patino, No. A149686, 2018 WL 4113155, *1-3 (Cal. Ct. App. Aug. 29, 2018). 

Evidence also was presented that Mr. Patino had threatened Doe’s mother, Y.B., and put a 

plastic bag over Y.B.’s head to try to suffocate her when she was pregnant. Id. at *2. The crimes 

against Y.B. are not recounted in further detail here because none of the legal issues in the habeas 

petition pertain to those crimes. 

B. Procedural History 

Following a jury trial in Alameda County Superior Court, Mr. Patino was convicted of 

assault upon his then-girlfriend Y.B. by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury (see Cal. 

Penal Code § 245(a)(4)), criminally threatening Y.B. (see id. at § 422), and continuous sexual 

abuse of Doe, a child under age 14, while he resided with and had recurring access to her (see id.

at § 288.5(a)). The jury found true the allegation that Mr. Patino had substantial sexual conduct 

with Doe (see id. at § 1203.066(a)(8)). Mr. Patino was sentenced to a total of 17 years, eight 

months in prison. Docket No. 12-2 at 33. 

He appealed. The California Court of Appeal affirmed his conviction. Docket No. 12-16. 

The California Supreme Court denied Mr. Patino’s petition for review without comment. Docket 

No. 12-18. 

Mr. Patino then filed this action seeking a federal writ of habeas corpus. He alleges the 

following claims in his petition for writ of habeas corpus: (1) the jury instruction regarding the 

crime of continuous sexual abuse omitted the mental state required and thereby deprived him of 

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his federal constitutional right to have a jury determine his guilt by proof beyond a reasonable 

doubt, see Docket No. 1 at 27; (2) the failure to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense of 

committing a lewd act on a child deprived Mr. Patino of his federal constitutional rights to a fair 

trial and to have a jury determine his guilt by proof beyond a reasonable doubt, see id. at 31; (3) 

the admission of the “shower evidence regarding Doe’s younger sister” deprived Mr. Patino of his 

federal constitutional right to due process, id. at 34; (4) the removal of Juror B2 violated Mr. 

Patino’s federal constitutional right to trial by an impartial jury, id. at 37; and (5) prosecutorial 

misconduct during closing argument deprived Mr. Patino of his federal constitutional right to a 

fair trial, id. at 41. Respondent has filed an answer and Mr. Patino has filed a one-page traverse. 

The matter is now ready for decision. 

III. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 

This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action for a writ of habeas corpus under 

28 U.S.C. § 2254. 28 U.S.C. § 1331. This action is in the proper venue because the petition 

concerns the conviction and sentence of a person convicted in Alameda County, California, which 

is within this judicial district. 28 U.S.C. §§ 84, 2241(d). 

IV. STANDARD OF REVIEW 

This Court may entertain a petition for writ of habeas corpus “in behalf of a person in 

custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court only on the ground that he is in custody in 

violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). 

The Antiterrorism And Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) amended § 2254 

to impose new restrictions on federal habeas review. A petition may not be granted with respect to 

any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in state court unless the state court’s adjudication of 

the claim: “(1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application 

of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or 

(2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of 

the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). 

“Under the ‘contrary to’ clause, a federal habeas court may grant the writ if the state court 

arrives at a conclusion opposite to that reached by [the Supreme] Court on a question of law or if 

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the state court decides a case differently than [the] Court has on a set of materially 

indistinguishable facts.” Williams (Terry) v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 412-13 (2000). 

“Under the ‘unreasonable application’ clause, a federal habeas court may grant the writ if 

the state court identifies the correct governing legal principle from [the Supreme] Court’s 

decisions but unreasonably applies that principle to the facts of the prisoner’s case.” Id. at 413. 

“[A] federal habeas court may not issue the writ simply because that court concludes in its 

independent judgment that the relevant state-court decision applied clearly established federal law 

erroneously or incorrectly. Rather, that application must also be unreasonable.” Id. at 411. “A 

federal habeas court making the ‘unreasonable application’ inquiry should ask whether the state 

court’s application of clearly established federal law was ‘objectively unreasonable.’” Id. at 409. 

Section 2254(d) generally applies to unexplained as well as reasoned decisions. “When a 

federal claim has been presented to a state court and the state court has denied relief, it may be 

presumed that the state court adjudicated the claim on the merits in the absence of any indication 

or state-law procedural principles to the contrary.” Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 99 (2011). 

When the state court has denied a federal constitutional claim on the merits without explanation, 

and there is no lower state court decision to “look through” to, the federal habeas court “must 

determine what arguments or theories supported or . . . could have supported, the state court’s 

decision; and then it must ask whether it is possible fairminded jurists could disagree that those 

arguments or theories are inconsistent with the holding in a prior decision of [the U.S. Supreme] 

Court.” Id. at 102. 

V. DISCUSSION 

A. Challenge To Jury Instruction On Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child 

Mr. Patino contends that the jury instruction given on the crime of continuous sexual abuse 

of a child violated his federal constitutional right “to determination of his guilt or innocence by 

proof beyond reasonable doubt by jury” because it omitted the mental state required for the 

offense. Docket No. 1 at 27 (citing 5th, 6th and 14th Amendments to U.S. Constitution). 

According to him, the offense must be committed “for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, 

or abuse” but the jury instruction failed to include this requirement. Docket No. 1 at 26. He urges 

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that he “was conducting a parental inspection which was not accompanied by lewd intent.” Id. 

1. Background 

Mr. Patino was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a minor under California Penal 

Code § 288.5(a). That statute provides, in relevant part: 

Any person who either resides in the same home with the minor 

child or has recurring access to the child, who over a period of time, 

not less than three months in duration, engages in three or more acts 

of substantial sexual conduct with a child under the age of 14 years 

at the time of the commission of the offense, as defined in 

subdivision (b) of Section 1203.066, or three or more acts of lewd or 

lascivious conduct, as defined in Section 288, with a child under the 

age of 14 years at the time of the commission of the offense is guilty 

of the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child. 

Cal. Penal Code § 288.5(a). “Substantial sexual conduct” in turn, is defined as “penetration of the 

vagina or rectum of either the victim or the offender by the penis of the other or by any foreign 

object, oral copulation, or masturbation of either the victim or the offender.”1 Cal. Penal Code 

§ 1203.066(b). 

At Mr. Patino’s trial, the “prosecutor relied solely on the theory that Patino engaged in 

‘substantial sexual conduct,’ and, therefore, requested a modified version of CALCRIM No. 

1120” that deleted reference to lewd or lascivious conduct which was the other potential basis for 

liability under § 288.5. Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *3; see RT 1075. Defense counsel agreed 

to the modified version of CALCRIM No. 1120 and told the trial judge she was fine “with the way 

the court ha[d]” the instruction. Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *3 (brackets in source). 

The jury thus was instructed with the following modified version of CALCRIM No. 1120: 

The defendant is charged in Count 1 with continuous sexual abuse 

of a child under the age of 14 years in violation of Penal Code 

section 288.5(a). 

To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must 

prove that: 

1

 As an alternative to three or more acts of “substantial sexual conduct,” a violation of § 288.5(a) 

also may occur if a defendant commits three or more violations of § 288(a) within a time period of 

more than three months. Section 288(a) is violated by “[a]ny person who willfully and lewdly 

commits any lewd or lascivious act . . . upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a 

child [under age 14] . . ., with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, 

or sexual desires of that person or the child.” Cal. Penal Code § 288(a) (eff. Sept. 9, 2010 to Dec. 

31, 2018). As stated in the text, this was not the theory of the case against Mr. Patino. 

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1. The defendant lived in the same home with or had 

recurring access to a minor child; 

2. The defendant engaged in three or more acts of substantial 

sexual conduct with the child; 

3. Three or more months passed between the first and last 

acts; 

AND 

4. The child was under the age of 14 years at the time of the 

acts[.] 

Substantial sexual conduct means oral copulation or masturbation of 

either the child or the perpetrator, or penetration, however slight, of 

the child’s or perpetrator’s vagina or rectum by the other person’s 

penis or any foreign object. 

Oral copulation is any contact, no matter how slight, between the 

mouth of one person and the sexual organ or anus of another person. 

Penetration is not required. 

A Foreign Object includes any part of the body except a penis. 

You cannot convict the defendant unless all of you agree that he 

committed three or more acts over a period of at least three months, 

but you do not all need to agree on which three acts were 

committed. 

It is not a defense that the child may have consented to the act. 

Suppl. CT 427; RT 1220-21. 

Mr. Patino argued on appeal (as he does in his federal habeas petition) that the instruction 

omitted the specific intent that is necessary for a § 288.5 conviction. The California Court of 

Appeal rejected Mr. Patino’s arguments, concluding that the instruction was a correct statement of 

California law and that, even if there was error, it was harmless: 

There is no additional requirement under section 288.5(a) or section 

1203.066 that the act constituting “substantial sexual conduct” must 

be accomplished with a specific purpose or intent. Thus, in People 

v. Garcia (2014) 229 Cal.App.4th 302, the Court of Appeal 

observed, “Substantial sexual conduct [for purposes of section 

288.5] refers to certain acts (penetration, oral copulation or 

masturbation) but does not require any kind of specific intent.” (Id.

at p. 312, fn. 3, italics added.) In [People v. Avina, 14 Cal. App. 4th 

1303 (Cal. Ct. App. 1993)], cited by Garcia, the court stated, “A 

conviction for section 288.5 . . . could be based upon a course of 

substantial sexual conduct within the meaning of section 1203.066, 

subdivision (b), which requires no specific intent.” (Avina, supra, 

14 Cal.App.4th at p. 1313, italics added; see also People v. Whitham

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(1995) 38 Cal.App.4th 1282, 1293 (Whitham) [noting “the ‘lewd or 

lascivious conduct’ aspect of section 288.5 requires the specific 

intent of sexual gratification, but the ‘substantial sexual conduct’ 

aspect does not”].) 

Given the statutory language of section 288.5(a) and the recognition 

in case law that “substantial sexual conduct” requires no specific 

intent, the trial court did not err in giving the modified version of 

CALCRIM No. 1120 that contained no reference to any specific 

intent. (Cf. Whitham, supra, 38 Cal.App4th at pp. 1287–1294.)7 

[Footnote 7]: In Whitham, the Court of Appeal . . . reasoned, 

“‘[I]t is the nature of the act that renders the abuse “sexual” 

and not the motivations of the perpetrator.’ [Citation.] This 

being so, it makes eminent sense to include in section 288.5 

a method of violation based upon ‘substantial sexual 

conduct’ unaccompanied by the specific intent required to 

prove a violation of section 288.” (Id at p. 1292.) 

Patino concedes that when “substantial sexual conduct” involves 

rape, sodomy, or oral copulation, no additional showing of a sexual 

intent is required. (In such cases, he acknowledges, “The act speaks 

for itself.”) He argues, however, that there are certain cases of “nonforcible sexual penetration,” such as medical examinations, that are 

not crimes but would fall within the description of “substantial 

sexual conduct” if an intent requirement were not judicially 

imposed. From this argument, he claims that when “substantial 

sexual conduct” is based on penetration of the vagina or rectum of 

the victim by any foreign object, the conduct must be done “for the 

purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse,” quoting language 

from section 289, subdivision (k)(1). But section 289, criminalizes 

forcible sexual penetration regardless of the age of the victim, a 

sexual offense quite different from the offense charged in this case. 

Section 288.5 (the charged offense) makes no reference to section 

289 or the phrase “sexual penetration.” Instead, section 288.5 refers 

to “substantial sexual conduct,” and section 1203.066 does not 

contain the phrase “sexual penetration” or refer to section 289 either. 

Patino offers no authority or convincing explanation for his claim 

that the specific intent required for a violation of forcible sexual 

penetration under section 289 must be read into section 288.5. 

Without such authority, we decline to read section 288.5 as 

requiring an intent element imported from a different criminal 

statute addressing a different offense. 

In any event, we discern no prejudice under any standard of review 

in the circumstances of this case. Doe testified that Patino touched 

her vagina more than 20 times and that he put his mouth and tongue 

on her vagina, telling her an orgasm “would help [her] vagina get 

tighter.” She testified that the oral copulation started when she was 

in the sixth grade and continued into the seventh grade. Patino did 

not testify and thus never claimed he inspected Doe’s vagina for 

infection or other medical purpose, and the defense theory was that 

Doe fabricated the allegations against Patino in an effort to break up 

the relationship between him and her mother.8

 Patino’s asserted 

concern with the jury instruction given is that without an intent 

element, a defendant could be found guilty of continuous sexual 

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abuse under section 288.5 based on “innocuous applications [of 

sexual penetration] (such as a genital exam by a health 

professional—or concerned parent or spouse).” But given the 

evidence and defense argument presented at trial, there is no 

possibility the jury could have found Patino engaged in digital 

penetration—but not oral copulation—and that his purpose and 

intent in doing so was only to inspect for infection. In other words, 

there is no possibility on the record before us that the jury convicted 

Patino of continuous sexual abuse based on a finding of purely 

innocuous conduct by Patino acting as a concerned caregiver. 

[Footnote 8:] On appeal, Patino claims his defense at trial 

“was that he was acting as a parent when he performed the 

penetrations complained of; in other words, the genital 

penetrations were accomplished for an innocent purpose.” 

This is clearly incorrect. Defense counsel never suggested in 

her opening statement or closing argument that Patino 

touched Doe’s vagina but only did so for some medical 

purpose. Nor would such a defense theory explain the oral 

copulation. Instead, the defense was that Doe made up her 

allegations, her testimony made no sense, and no such sexual 

conduct occurred. 

Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *4-5. 

The California Court of Appeal did not discuss the federal constitutional claim. Because 

there is no reasoned state court decision on the federal constitutional claim that had been presented 

to that court, this Court “must determine what arguments or theories supported or . . . could have 

supported the state court’s decision; and then it must ask whether it is possible fairminded jurists 

could disagree that those arguments or theories are inconsistent with the holding in a prior 

decision” of the U.S. Supreme Court. Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. at 102. 

2. Analysis of Federal Constitutional Claim 

To obtain federal habeas relief for an error in the jury instructions, a petitioner must show 

that the error “so infected the entire trial that the resulting conviction violates due process.” 

Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 72 (1991). A jury instruction violates due process if it fails to 

give effect to the requirement that “the State must prove every element of the offense.” Middleton 

v. McNeil, 541 U.S. 433, 437 (2004). “‘A single instruction to a jury may not be judged in 

artificial isolation, but must be viewed in the context of the overall charge.’” Id. (quoting Boyde v. 

California, 494 U.S. 370, 378 (1990)). “Even if there is some ‘ambiguity, inconsistency, or 

deficiency’ in the instruction, such an error does not necessarily constitute a due process 

violation.” Waddington v. Sarausad, 555 U.S. 179, 190 (2009) (quoting Middleton v. McNeil, 541 

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U.S. at 437). Where an ambiguous or potentially defective instruction is at issue, the court must 

inquire whether there is a “reasonable likelihood” that the jury applied the challenged instruction 

in a way that violates the Constitution. Estelle, 502 U.S at 72 & n.4; Boyde, 494 U.S. at 380. If a 

constitutional error is found in the jury instructions, the federal habeas court also must determine 

whether that error was harmless by looking at the actual impact of the error. Calderon v. 

Coleman, 525 U.S. 141, 146-47 (1998). 

The California Court of Appeal’s rejection of Mr. Patino’s instructional error claim was 

not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established law from the U.S. Supreme 

Court. The appellate court determined that the instruction correctly stated California law because 

there was no requirement under state law that the substantial sexual conduct be done for the 

purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse. The California Court of Appeal rejected Mr. 

Patino’s interpretation of the statute as a matter of state law. The California Court of Appeal’s 

interpretation of California law is binding in this federal habeas action. See Hicks v. Feiock, 485 

U.S. 624, 629-30 (1988). That is, this Court’s analysis begins with an acceptance that the law of 

California is that a § 288.5 offense based on substantial sexual conduct does not include a 

requirement that the substantial sexual conduct be done for the purpose of sexual arousal, 

gratification, or abuse. Here, that determination of state law means that the premise of Mr. 

Patino’s challenge to the instruction is wrong. In short, contrary to Mr. Patino’s assertion, the jury 

did not have to find that the substantial sexual conduct was done for the purpose of sexual arousal, 

gratification, or abuse. 

Mr. Patino’s federal constitutional claim falls along with his erroneous premise. He 

contends that the jury instruction impermissibly negated the need for the jury to find by proof 

beyond a reasonable doubt that the substantial sexual conduct be done for the purpose of sexual 

arousal, gratification, or abuse, but California law does not have such an element for this crime. 

For the jury to find the defendant guilty, the instruction required the jury to find that: (1) The 

defendant lived in the same home with or had recurring access to a minor child; (2) The defendant 

engaged in three or more acts of substantial sexual conduct with the child; (3) Three or more 

months passed between the first and last acts; and (4) The child was under the age of 14 years at 

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the time of the acts. See CALCRIM 1120. That was enough under state law. It would not have 

been an unreasonable application of, or contrary to, any Supreme Court holding for the California 

Court of Appeal to determine that Mr. Patino’s federal constitutional rights were not violated by 

the instruction that omitted an intent requirement that did not exist under state law. 

The California Court of Appeal also reasonably could have determined that, even if there 

was an error in not specifying that the substantial sexual conduct had to be done with the intent to 

sexually arouse, gratify, or abuse, any such error would have been harmless. To obtain federal 

habeas relief, an error must have had a “‘substantial and injurious effect or influence in 

determining the jury’s verdict.’” Hedgpeth v. Pulido, 555 U.S. 57, 58 (2008) (per curiam) 

(quoting Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 623 (1993)). The state appellate court reasonably 

rejected Mr. Patino’s argument that a specific intent should be read into the statute to avoid 

criminalizing innocent conduct, such as a medical exam by a parent or doctor. As the state 

appellate court explained, there was no possibility that such a scenario existed in this case given 

the evidence and arguments. Mr. Patino did not testify and did not claim that he had inspected 

Doe’s vagina for infection or other medical purpose; rather, the defense theory was that Doe had 

fabricated all the allegations against Mr. Patino to try to break up the relationship between him and 

Doe’s mother. Moreover, given Doe’s testimony that Mr. Patino had touched her vagina with his 

mouth as well as his fingers many times, including putting his tongue inside her vagina, the 

California Court of Appeal reasonably concluded that “there is no possibility . . . that the jury 

convicted Patino of continuous sexual abuse based on a finding of purely innocuous conduct by 

Patino acting as a concerned caregiver.” Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *5. 

There is no reasonable likelihood that the use of the modified version of CALCRIM No. 

1120 eliminated the need for the prosecutor to find all elements of the § 288.5 offense proven 

beyond a reasonable doubt. Accord Provencio v. Hatton, 2017 WL 4922894, at *12-13 (E.D. Cal. 

2017) (jury instruction on § 288.5 offense that did not require specific intent did not violate due 

process because state court had determined that “there was no requirement that the conduct be 

committed with the specific intent to arouse” sexually either the defendant or the victim). Mr. 

Patino has not shown that there was an instructional error, let alone one that “so infected the entire 

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trial that the resulting conviction violates due process,” Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. at 72, or one 

that had a “substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury’s verdict,” Brecht, 

507 U.S. at 623. He is not entitled to the writ on this claim. 

B. The Failure To Instruct on a Lesser-Included Offense 

Mr. Patino contends that the trial court’s failure to instruct on the lesser-included offense 

of committing a lewd act on a child under age 14 deprived him of his due process right to a fair 

trial and to have a jury determine his guilt by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Docket No. 1 at 

31. 

1. Background 

In his direct appeal, as here, Mr. Patino focused largely on his asserted state-law right to a 

jury instruction on a lesser-included offense – mentioning the federal constitutional right only in 

passing. The California Court of Appeal rejected his claim and discussed only the state law 

issues. The California Court of Appeal explained that Mr. Patino was not entitled to an instruction 

on committing a lewd and lascivious act on a child under the state-law tests for lesser-included 

offense instructions. Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *5-6. The state appellate court also explained 

that, even if committing a lewd act on a child under age 14 (see Cal. Penal Code § 288) was 

considered a lesser offense of the continuous sexual abuse crime (see Cal. Penal Code § 288.5), 

such an instruction “is only required when a jury could reasonably conclude the defendant 

committed the lesser but not the greater offense.” Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *6. 

[T]he record here does not support a conclusion that Patino violated 

section 288 but did not violate section 288.5. Doe testified that 

Patino touched her vagina with his thumb, fingers, and tongue, and 

this happened more than 20 times during the time she was in sixth 

and seventh grade. Based on her testimony, the jury could find 

Patino engaged in acts of substantial sexual abuse more than three 

times over the course of more than three months, or it could 

determine Doe was not telling the truth and conclude Patino was not 

guilty of any offense related to her. But there was no substantial 

evidence from which the jury reasonably could have found Patino 

committed an act or acts that amounted to lewd or lascivious 

conduct but he did not engage in continuous sexual abuse. 

Accordingly, we find no error in the trial court not instructing the 

jury, sua sponte, on lewd and lascivious conduct. (See People v. 

Huggins (2006) 38 Cal.4th 175, 217 [finding “no error under state 

law or violation of any constitutional guaranty” in failing to instruct 

on lesser uncharged offense where there was no substantial evidence 

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from which a reasonable jury could conclude that the lesser offense, 

but not the greater, was committed].) 

Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *6. 

The California Court of Appeal did not discuss the federal constitutional claim. Because 

there is no reasoned state court decision on the federal constitutional claim that had been presented 

to that court, this Court “must determine what arguments or theories supported or . . . could have 

supported the state court’s decision; and then it must ask whether it is possible fairminded jurists 

could disagree that those arguments or theories are inconsistent with the holding in a prior 

decision” of the U.S. Supreme Court. Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. at 102. 

2. Analysis of Federal Constitutional Claim 

Mr. Patino’s claim fails because the Supreme Court has never recognized the right he 

asserts. Although instructions on lesser-included offenses must be given in capital cases, Beck v. 

Alabama, 447 U.S. 625 (1980), “[t]here is no settled rule of law on whether Beck applies to 

noncapital cases such as the present one. In fact, this circuit, without specifically addressing the 

issue of extending Beck, has declined to find constitutional error arising from the failure to instruct 

on a lesser included offense in a noncapital case.” Turner v. Marshall, 63 F.3d 807, 819 (9th Cir. 

1995), overruled on other grounds by Tolbert v. Page, 182 F.3d 677, 685 (9th Cir. 1999) (en 

banc). The failure of a state trial court to instruct on lesser-included offenses in a noncapital case 

does not present a federal constitutional claim, particularly when no such instruction was 

requested. Solis v. Garcia, 219 F.3d 922, 929 (9th Cir. 2000); see also Windham v. Merkle, 163 

F.3d 1092, 1105-06 (9th Cir. 1998). 

It is true that under Ninth Circuit precedent, “the defendant’s right to adequate jury 

instructions on his or her theory of the case might, in some cases, constitute an exception to the 

general rule.” Solis, 219 F.3d at 929 (citing Bashor v. Risley, 730 F.2d 1228, 1240 (9th Cir. 1984). 

Solis suggests, however, that there must be substantial evidence to warrant the instruction on the 

lesser-included offense. Solis, 219 F.3d at 929-30 (no duty to instruct on voluntary manslaughter 

as lesser included offense to murder because evidence presented at trial precluded a heat of 

passion or imperfect self-defense instruction; no duty to instruct on involuntary manslaughter 

because evidence presented at trial implied malice). 

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Notwithstanding the Ninth Circuit’s holding that a defendant’s right to present a defense 

might in some circumstances require an instruction on a lesser-included offense, the Supreme 

Court has never so squarely held. “[C]ircuit precedent does not constitute ‘clearly established 

Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court.’ § 2254(d)(1).” Glebe v. Frost, 574 U.S. 21, 24 

(2014). Without such a Supreme Court holding, the California Court of Appeal’s rejection of the 

claim that the failure to instruct on the lesser offense violated Mr. Patino’s federal constitutional 

rights cannot be said to be “contrary to” or involve “an unreasonable application of clearly 

established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1); see, e.g., 

Bortis v. Swarthout, 672 F. App’x 754 (9th Cir. 2017) (denying habeas relief; state court properly 

considered failure to give lesser-included offense instruction as only a state law error because 

“[t]here is no Supreme Court precedent establishing that a state trial court is required to instruct on 

lesser included offenses in noncapital cases.”). 

Even if there were such clearly established federal law from the Supreme Court that a 

lesser-included offense instruction must be given when that is the defendant’s theory of defense, 

Mr. Patino would not be entitled to relief. His theory of defense was that the touchings never 

occurred, not that they amounted only to lewd and lascivious acts upon a child.2 

 The defense attacked Doe’s credibility and argued that she had fabricated the accusations 

against Mr. Patino in an effort to break up the relationship between him and Doe’s mother. He 

identifies no testimony or argument in support of a supposed theory that he was only guilty of 

lewd and lascivious acts upon a child. In fact, the California Court of Appeal implicitly found that 

Mr. Patino presented no such defense when it rejected his appellate argument that he was acting as 

a concerned parent when he touched Doe, as it identified the defense argument as being “that Doe 

made up her allegations, her testimony made no sense, and no such sexual conduct occurred.” See

Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *5 n.8. 

2

 California’s lewd-and-lascivious-conduct-with-a-child statute, California Penal Code section 

288(a), is violated by “[a]ny person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious 

act . . . upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child [under age 14] . . ., with 

the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person 

or the child.” Cal. Penal Code § 288(a) (eff. Sept. 9, 2010 to Dec. 31, 2018). 

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The California Court of Appeal’s rejection of the federal constitutional claim was not 

“contrary to,” or “an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined 

by the Supreme Court of the United States” because there is no such law. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). 

Mr. Patino is not entitled to the writ on this claim. 

C. Admission of Evidence That Mr. Patino Showered With Doe’s Little Sister 

Mr. Patino contends that the admission of evidence that he took a shower with Doe’s little 

sister, Jacqueline Doe, violated his Fourteenth Amendment due process right to a fair trial because 

it “rais[ed] the specter of a second molestation victim.” Docket No. 1 at 34. 

1. Background 

At an in limine hearing, the trial court decided that evidence about Mr. Patino showering 

with Jacqueline Doe was admissible under California Evidence Code § 1108.3 At trial, Jacqueline 

Doe (who was age 13 at the time of trial, RT 579) provided the following testimony: She once 

took a shower with Mr. Patino; she did not want to shower with him, but he made her do so. RT 

588, 589.4 They were not naked: she was wearing underwear and a bra and he was wearing 

boxers. RT 590-91. The shower seemed to last a long time and she did not like it; it made her feel 

“weird.” RT 590-91. She admitted on cross-examination that she had told an interviewer at 

Calico, a center to report and be interviewed about child abuse, about two years earlier that Mr. 

Patino did not do anything that made her feel uncomfortable with her body. RT 599, 600. Later 

in the trial, Doe testified that she saw Mr. Patino shower with Jacqueline “more than one time,” 

RT 425, and Jaqueline’s aunt and cousin testified that Jacqueline had told them that Mr. Patino 

had taken a shower with her. RT 612, 622. 

3

 California Evidence Code § 1108(a) provides: “In a criminal action in which the defendant is 

accused of a sexual offense, evidence of the defendant’s commission of another sexual offense or 

offenses is not made inadmissible by Section 1101, if the evidence is not inadmissible pursuant to 

Section 352.” California Evidence Code § 1101(a) generally prohibits “evidence of a person’s 

character or a trait of his or her character (whether in the form of an opinion, evidence of 

reputation, or evidence of specific instances of his or her conduct) . . . when offered to prove his or 

her conduct on a specified occasion.” Section 1108(a) thus provides an exception to Section 

1101(a). 

4

 Evidence and argument was presented, without objection from the defense, that the shower stall 

was cramped, with a floor measuring 28 by 33 inches. RT 930, 1124. 

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The jury was instructed with CALCRIM No. 1191 regarding the use of the evidence. CT 

429-30.5 The jurors thus heard that, if they believed by a preponderance of the evidence that Mr. 

Patino had annoyed or molested Jacqueline, they could conclude from that evidence that the 

defendant was disposed or inclined to commit sexual offenses, and based on that decision, also 

conclude that the defendant was likely to commit the charged offense of continuous sexual abuse 

against Doe. CT 429. 

Mr. Patino argued on appeal, as he does here, that the evidence was inadmissible under 

state evidence rules and violated his right to due process. The California Court of Appeal rejected 

his claim regarding the shower evidence. The state appellate court determined that the evidence 

was properly admitted under California Evidence Code § 1108 because it was sufficient for the 

jury to find that Mr. Patino violated California Penal Code § 647.6 (i.e., annoying or molesting a 

child) and therefore was a “sexual offense” that was admissible under California Evidence Code § 

5

 The jury was instructed: 

The People presented evidence that the defendant committed the 

crime of annoying or molesting a child in violation of Penal Code 

Section 647.6(a) against Jacqueline Doe that was not charged in this 

case. This crime is defined for you in Instruction # 1122. 

You may consider this evidence only if the People have proved by a 

preponderance of the evidence that the defendant in fact committed 

the uncharged offense. Proof by a preponderance of the evidence is 

a different burden of proof from proof beyond a reasonable doubt. 

A fact is proved by a preponderance of the evidence if you conclude 

that it is more likely than not that the fact is true. [¶] If the People 

have not met this burden of proof, you must disregard this evidence 

entirely. 

If you decide that the defendant committed the uncharged offense, 

you may, but are not required to, conclude from that evidence that 

the defendant was disposed or inclined to commit sexual offenses, 

and based on that decision, also conclude that the defendant was 

likely to commit and did commit Continual Sexual Abuse, as 

charged in Count 1. If you conclude that the defendant committed 

the uncharged offense, that conclusion is only one factor to consider 

along with all the other evidence. It is not sufficient by itself to 

prove that the defendant is guilty of Count 1, Continuous Sexual 

Abuse. The People must still prove the charge beyond a reasonable 

doubt. [¶] Do not consider this evidence for any other purpose. 

CT 429 (CALCRIM No. 1191). 

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1108: 

A reasonable jury could conclude that a young girl being made to 

shower alone with her mother’s boyfriend is conduct a normal 

person would be unhesitatingly irritated by, and could further infer 

that the adult man who made his girlfriend’s young daughter shower 

with him was motivated by an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest 

in children. (Cf. Jandres, supra, 226 Cal.App.4th at pp. 345, 354–

355 [where evidence showed the defendant put his finger in an 11-

year-old girl’s mouth, “a jury reasonably could posit that 

defendant’s conduct carried a sexual connotation, such that it would 

not have been an abuse of discretion for the trial court to permit the 

jury to determine whether defendant’s conduct violated . . . section 

647.6”].) The trial court did not err in determining the proffered 

evidence was sufficient for a jury to find, by a preponderance of the 

evidence, that Patino committed a “sexual offense” under Evidence 

Code section 1108 against Doe’s younger sister. 

Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *8. 

The California Court of Appeal also determined that California Evidence Code § 352 – a 

provision comparable to Federal Rule of Evidence 403 for balancing the probative value against 

the prejudicial effect of evidence – did not require the exclusion of the evidence. “Patino’s 

offense against Doe’s younger sister was relevant in that it showed his unnatural sexual interest in 

young girls. It was not remote in time as it happened during the same period as the charged 

offense. We agree with the trial court that the evidence was not more egregious or inflammatory 

than the charged offense, and there was little risk of confusing the jury.” Patino, 2018 WL 

4113155, at *8. 

The California Court of Appeal did not discuss the federal constitutional claim. Because 

there is no reasoned state court decision on the federal constitutional claim that had been presented 

to that court, this Court “must determine what arguments or theories supported or . . . could have 

supported the state court’s decision; and then it must ask whether it is possible fairminded jurists 

could disagree that those arguments or theories are inconsistent with the holding in a prior 

decision” of the U.S. Supreme Court. Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. at 102. 

2. Analysis Of Due Process Claim 

To violate due process, the allegedly wrongful admission of evidence must be “so 

extremely unfair that its admission violates ‘fundamental conceptions of justice.’” Dowling v. 

United States, 493 U.S. 342, 352 (1990) (quoting United States v. Lovasco, 431 U.S. 783, 790 

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(1977)); see, e.g., id. (due process was not violated by admission of evidence to identify 

perpetrator and link him to another perpetrator even though the evidence also was related to crime 

of which defendant had been acquitted); Gimenez v. Ochoa, 821 F.3d 1136, 1145 (9th Cir. 2016) 

(petitioner who showed that a vigorous debate had sprung up as to the validity of the “triad-only” 

theory of shaken baby syndrome in the years since his murder conviction “failed to show that 

permitting the prosecution’s experts to testify based on a triad-only theory of [shaken baby 

syndrome] was ‘so extremely unfair that it[] . . . violate[d] fundamental conceptions of justice.’”) 

(alterations and omission in original). 

The United States Supreme Court has never held that the introduction of propensity or 

other allegedly prejudicial evidence violates due process. See Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 

68-70 (1991). Estelle v. McGuire specifically left open the question regarding propensity 

evidence. See id. at 75 n.5 (“we express no opinion on whether a state law would violate the Due 

Process Clause if it permitted the use of ‘prior crimes’ evidence to show propensity to commit a 

charged crime”). 

In Estelle v. McGuire, the defendant was on trial for murder of his infant daughter after she 

was brought to a hospital and died from numerous injuries suggestive of recent child abuse. The 

defendant told police the injuries were accidental. Evidence was admitted at trial that the coroner 

discovered during the autopsy older, partially healed, injuries that had occurred six or seven weeks 

before the child’s death. Id. at 65. Evidence of the older injuries was introduced to prove 

“battered child syndrome,” which “exists when a child has sustained repeated and/or serious 

injuries by nonaccidental means.” Id. at 66. The state appellate court had held that the proof of 

prior injuries tending to establish battered child syndrome was proper under California law. Id. In 

federal habeas proceedings, the Ninth Circuit found a due process violation based in part on its 

determination that the evidence was improperly admitted under state law. Id. at 66-67. The U.S. 

Supreme Court first held that the Ninth Circuit had erred in inquiring whether the evidence was 

properly admitted under state law because “‘federal habeas corpus relief does not lie for errors of 

state law.’” Id. at 67. The Supreme Court then explained: 

The evidence of battered child syndrome was relevant to show 

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intent, and nothing in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth 

Amendment requires the State to refrain from introducing relevant 

evidence simply because the defense chooses not to contest the 

point. [¶] Concluding, as we do, that the prior injury evidence was 

relevant to an issue in the case, we need not explore further the 

apparent assumption of the Court of Appeals that it is a violation of 

the due process guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment for 

evidence that is not relevant to be received in a criminal trial. We 

hold that McGuire’s due process rights were not violated by the 

admission of the evidence. See Spencer v. Texas, 385 U.S. 554, 

563–564, 87 S. Ct. 648, 653–654, 17 L.Ed.2d 606 (1967) (“Cases in 

this Court have long proceeded on the premise that the Due Process 

Clause guarantees the fundamental elements of fairness in a criminal 

trial. . . . But it has never been thought that such cases establish this 

Court as a rulemaking organ for the promulgation of state rules of 

criminal procedure”). 

Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. at 70 (omission in original). 

The cited case, Spencer v. Texas, 385 U.S. at 563, held that the admission of evidence of 

prior convictions did not violate due process. The Supreme Court explained in Spencer that, 

although there may have been other, perhaps better, ways to adjudicate the existence of prior 

convictions (e.g., a separate trial on the priors after the trial on the current substantive offense 

resulted in a guilty verdict), Texas’ use of prior crimes evidence in a “one-stage recidivist trial” 

did not violate due process. Id. at 563-64. “In the face of the legitimate state purpose and the 

long-standing and widespread use that attend the procedure under attack here, we find it 

impossible to say that because of the possibility of some collateral prejudice the Texas procedure 

is rendered unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause as it has been interpreted and applied in 

our past cases.” Id. at 564. 

Estelle v. McGuire also cited to Lisenba v. California, 314 U.S. 219, 228 (1941), in 

support of the conclusion that the introduction of the battered child syndrome evidence did not so 

infuse the trial with unfairness as to deny due process of law. See Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. at 

75. In Lisenba, the Supreme Court rejected a claim that the admission of inflammatory evidence 

violated the defendant’s due process rights. The evidence at issue in Lisenba was live rattlesnakes 

and testimony about them to show they had been used by the defendant to murder his wife. “We 

do not sit to review state court action on questions of the propriety of the trial judge’s action in the 

admission of evidence. We cannot hold, as petitioner urges, that the introduction and 

identification of the snakes so infused the trial with unfairness as to deny due process of law. The 

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fact that evidence admitted as relevant by a court is shocking to the sensibilities of those in the 

courtroom cannot, for that reason alone, render its reception a violation of due process.” Lisenba, 

314 U.S. at 228-29. 

These three Supreme Court cases declined to hold that the admission of prejudicial or 

propensity evidence violates the defendant’s due process rights. No Supreme Court cases since 

Estelle v. McGuire have undermined the holdings in these three cases. In other words, there is no 

Supreme Court holding that the admission of prejudicial or propensity evidence violates due 

process. 

When the U.S. Supreme Court “cases give no clear answer to the question presented, let 

alone one in [the petitioner’s] favor, ‘it cannot be said that the state court unreasonabl[y] appli[ed] 

clearly established Federal law.’ Under the explicit terms of § 2254(d)(1), therefore, relief is 

unauthorized.” Wright v. Van Patten, 552 U.S. 120, 126 (2008) (alterations in original) (citation 

omitted) (quoting Carey v. Musladin, 549 U.S. 70, 77 (2006), and 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)). 

Indeed, the Ninth Circuit has recognized that the United States Supreme Court has never 

held that the introduction of propensity or other allegedly prejudicial evidence violates due 

process. See Foy v. Gipson, 609 F. App’x 903 (9th Cir. 2015) (no habeas relief on claim that 

admission of propensity evidence (i.e., that defendant assaulted another woman after he assaulted 

victim in this case) violated defendant’s right to due process because Estelle v. McGuire’s

reservation of the question as to whether propensity evidence violates due process “forecloses the 

conclusion that the state court’s decision was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, 

clearly established federal law); Munoz v. Gonzales, 596 F. App’x 588 (9th Cir. 2015) (even if 

admission of evidence of prior auto theft was improperly admitted to show propensity, habeas 

relief foreclosed because Estelle v. McGuire reserved the question whether propensity evidence 

violated due process); Holley v. Yarborough, 568 F.3d 1091, 1101 (9th Cir. 2009) (denying habeas 

relief upon finding that trial court’s admission of irrelevant pornographic materials was 

“fundamentally unfair” under Ninth Circuit precedent but not contrary to, or an unreasonable 

application of, clearly established Federal law under § 2254(d)); Alberni v. McDaniel, 458 F.3d 

860, 865 (9th Cir. 2006) (denying habeas relief on claim that due process was violated by 

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admission of evidence of defendant’s past violent actions and explosive temper to show propensity 

due to Estelle v. McGuire’s reservation of the question whether propensity evidence violates due 

process); Moses v. Payne, 555 F.3d 742, 760 (9th Cir. 2009) (because balancing test for excluding 

evidence was creation of Ninth Circuit law and Supreme Court had not directly considered 

whether trial court’s exercise of discretion to exclude evidence violated defendants’ constitutional 

right to present evidence, state court’s failure to use Ninth Circuit’s balancing test is not contrary 

to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established Supreme Court precedent). 

“[E]valuating whether a rule application was unreasonable requires considering the rule’s 

specificity. The more general the rule, the more leeway courts have in reaching outcomes in caseby-case determinations.” Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 664 (2004). Bearing in mind 

the extremely general nature of the Supreme Court’s articulation of a principle of “fundamental 

fairness” – i.e., evidence that “is so extremely unfair that its admission violates ‘fundamental 

conceptions of justice’” may violate due process, Dowling, 493 U.S. at 352 – the California Court 

of Appeal’s rejection of Mr. Patino’s due process claim was not contrary to, or an unreasonable 

application of, clearly established federal law as set forth by the Supreme Court. See generally

Holley, 568 F.3d at 1101 (denying writ because, although Supreme Court “has been clear that a 

writ should be issued when constitutional errors have rendered the trial fundamentally unfair, it 

has not yet made a clear ruling that admission of irrelevant or overtly prejudicial evidence 

constitutes a due process violation sufficient to warrant issuance of the writ”) (citation omitted)). 

In this circuit, the admission of prejudicial evidence may make a trial fundamentally unfair 

and violate due process “[o]nly if there are no permissible inferences the jury may draw from the 

evidence.” Jammal v. Van de Kamp, 926 F.2d 918, 920 (9th Cir. 1991). “Evidence introduced by 

the prosecution will often raise more than one inference, some permissible, some not; we must 

rely on the jury to sort them out in light of the court’s instructions. Only if there are no

permissible inferences the jury may draw from the evidence can its admission violate due process. 

Even then, the evidence must ‘be of such quality as necessarily prevents a fair trial.’ Only under 

such circumstances can it be inferred that the jury must have used the evidence for an improper 

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purpose.” Jammal, 926 F.2d at 920 (citation and footnote omitted).6

Here, the evidence that Mr. Patino required Jacqueline (a child less than 13 years old at the 

relevant time) to take a shower with him in a cramped shower stall – an event that she did not want 

to take part in and that she said made her feel “weird” -- was relevant to whether Mr. Patino had 

an unnatural sexual interest in young girls. From this evidence that supported a view that he had 

an unnatural sexual interest in young girls, the jury could draw the inference that Mr. Patino had in 

fact engaged in substantial sexual conduct with Doe. Because the inference was permissible, the 

state appellate court did not unreasonably apply Supreme Court precedent in holding that the 

admission of the shower evidence did not violate due process. See Jammal, 926 F.2d at 920. 

D. Dismissal of Juror Whose Young Son Had Become Ill 

During the presentation of evidence, the trial court dismissed a juror who reported that she 

needed to stay home to care for her young son who had become ill. Mr. Patino argues that this 

violated his Sixth Amendment right to trial by an impartial jury. 

1. Background 

The issue arose after the prosecution had rested its case and the defense attorney presented 

6

 In Jammal, the police found a gun, $47,000 and drugs in the trunk of Jammal’s stolen car when 

they arrested Willis, who had stolen Jammal’s car; 18 months later, the police found $135,000 (but 

no drugs) in the trunk of Jammal’s car when they arrested Jammal. At trial, Willis said he had no 

idea the drugs and money were in the trunk of Jammal’s stolen car until police opened it. The 

prosecution urged the jury to infer that both the drugs and the $47,000 found in the trunk of 

Jammal’s car when Willis was arrested belonged to Jammal since Jammal later was arrested also 

with a large stash of cash in his trunk. Jammal unsuccessfully objected that this evidence 

effectively branded him a drug dealer and was therefore inadmissible character evidence. The 

Ninth Circuit explained that state law evidence rules were beside the point in a federal habeas 

proceeding and any problem in the jury inferring that Jammal had put the $47,000 and drugs in the 

car earlier (even if impermissible under state law) was not a constitutional problem because the 

inference that Jammal had put both the $47,000 and drugs in the trunk on an earlier occasion was a 

“rational inference” the jury could draw from the evidence that he was caught with $135,000 in his 

trunk. Jammal, 926 F.2d at 920. 

Jammal is one of the few cases that provides any guidance as to what might amount to the 

introduction of evidence that might amount to fundamental unfairness. The Ninth Circuit 

continues to use the Jammal “permissible inference” test in habeas cases governed by AEDPA. 

See, e.g., Noel v. Lewis, 605 F. App’x 606, 608 (9th Cir. 2015) (admission of gang evidence did 

not violate due process); Lundin v. Kernan, 583 F. App’x 686, 687 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Jammal

and concluding that admission of graffiti evidence did not violate due process because there were 

permissible inferences to be drawn); Gonzalez v. Knowles, 515 F.3d 1006, 1011 (9th Cir. 2008) 

(citing Jammal and concluding that evidence of prior bad acts did not violate due process). 

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the testimony of her first two witnesses. After all the jurors other than Juror No. B2 were excused 

for the day on Monday, August 1, 2016, the trial court (in the presence of the attorneys and 

defendant) spoke to Juror B2, who had submitted a note stating that her child had become ill. RT 

999-1000. Juror B2 said that she would be unable to appear in court the next day (August 2) 

because her son had fallen ill; school authorities had informed her that her son “had a cold, 

something like a mild flu, and then they said his stomach—diarrhea. I can’t – I can’t send him to 

school.” RT 1000-1001. Juror B2 explained that she had recently moved to the area and did not 

know anyone who could care for her son the next day: the woman she lived with had a job and 

was unavailable to care for Juror B2’s child, and Juror B2’s relatives who had been available until 

that day were leaving town early the next morning. RT 1000-1001. Juror B2 was unwilling to 

leave her sick seven-year-old son home alone and did not think she could find someone who could 

care for him by the next day. RT 1000-1001. 

The prosecutor suggested that Juror No. B2 be dismissed for cause; the trial court agreed. 

RT 1001-1002. The court stated: “[A]t this time the court is going to find good cause to relieve 

the juror and we’ll put one of the alternates in place.” RT 1002. Defense counsel objected, stating 

that she would be “perfectly happy to pause the defense case for a day” and bring her remaining 

witnesses back on the following day (Wednesday); if the juror was still unable to return at that 

point, the court could revisit the question of whether Juror B2 should be dismissed. RT 1003. The 

trial court rejected the defense proposal because Juror No. B2 “indicated that she could not say 

whether [her son] was going to be better in a day,” Juror B2 had no one available to take care of 

her son, and “apparently the illness got worse today than it had been earlier this morning.” RT 

1003-1004. 

The dismissal of Juror B2 was done pursuant to California Penal Code § 1089, which 

provides, in relevant part: 

If at any time, whether before or after the final submission of the 

case to the jury, a juror dies or becomes ill, or upon other good 

cause shown to the court is found to be unable to perform his or her 

duty, or if a juror requests a discharge and good cause appears 

therefor, the court may order the juror to be discharged and draw the 

name of an alternate, who shall then take a place in the jury box, and 

be subject to the same rules and regulations as though the alternate 

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juror had been selected as one of the original jurors. 

Cal. Penal Code § 1089. 

Mr. Patino argued on appeal (as he does here) that the dismissal of Juror B2 violated his 

state law rights and his federal constitutional right to trial by an impartial jury. The California 

Court of Appeal had “no difficulty concluding the trial court met its obligation to investigate and 

did not abuse its discretion in determining Juror B2 was unable to perform her duty because of her 

sick child and lack of childcare.” Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *9. That court also rejected Mr. 

Patino’s argument that hindsight showed that defense counsel was correct “that allowing juror B2 

leeway to care for her son without removing her from the jury would not have caused more than a 

short delay: the testimony of the remaining defense character witnesses was quite short and went 

quickly.’” Id. The state appellate court explained that the reasonableness of the trial court’s 

decision to dismiss a juror “‘must be considered at the time the decision was made and not with 

the benefit of hindsight.’” Id. (citation omitted). Moreover, the state appellate court noted that the 

record did not show that the trial court’s concern that the child’s illness might last more than a day 

was unfounded. Id. (citation omitted). 

The California Court of Appeal did not discuss the federal constitutional claim that had 

been presented to it. Because there is no reasoned state court decision on the federal constitutional 

claim, this Court “must determine what arguments or theories supported or . . . could have 

supported the state court’s decision; and then it must ask whether it is possible fairminded jurists 

could disagree that those arguments or theories are inconsistent with the holding in a prior 

decision” of the U.S. Supreme Court. Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. at 102. 

2. Analysis Of Claimed Violation of Right To Trial By Impartial Jury 

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the criminally accused the right to a fair trial by a panel 

of impartial jurors. U.S. Const. amend. VI; see Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722 (1961). 

The purpose of the jury trial, as we noted in Duncan, is to prevent 

oppression by the Government. “Providing an accused with the right 

to be tried by a jury of his peers gave him an inestimable safeguard 

against the corrupt or overzealous prosecutor and against the 

compliant, biased, or eccentric judge.” Duncan v. Louisiana, [391 

U.S. 145, 156 (1968)]. Given this purpose, the essential feature of a 

jury obviously lies in the interposition between the accused and his 

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accuser of the commonsense judgment of a group of laymen, and in 

the community participation and shared responsibility that results 

from that group's determination of guilt or innocence. 

Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. 78, 100–01 (1970); see id. at 103 (holding that state’s refusal to 

impanel more than six members for a jury did not violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right 

to trial by jury); Duncan, 391 U.S. at 149-50 (Fourteenth Amendment guarantees a right to jury 

trial in all state court criminal cases that would, if tried in federal court, come within the Sixth 

Amendment’s right to jury trial). “Due process means a jury capable and willing to decide the 

case solely on the evidence before it, and a trial judge ever watchful to prevent prejudicial 

occurrences and to determine the effect of such occurrences when they happen.” Smith v. Phillips, 

455 U.S. 209, 217 (1982) (finding no basis to conclude that juror was impliedly biased where trial 

judge held a post-trial hearing and determined that jury’s verdict was not influenced by the fact 

that one juror applied for a job with the district attorney’s office during the trial); id. at 218 (trial 

judge’s findings that juror’s application for a job with the district attorney’s office did not 

influence the jury’s verdict had a presumption of correctness under § 2254(e) that had not been 

overcome by clear evidence). 

Other than these very broad principles mentioned above about the jury-trial right, this 

Court has not found any Supreme Court authority that would aid in the analysis of Mr. Patino’s 

claim. These Supreme Court cases speak in very broad terms about the jury trial right. 

“[E]valuating whether a rule application was unreasonable requires considering the rule’s 

specificity. The more general the rule, the more leeway courts have in reaching outcomes in caseby-case determinations.” Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 664 (2004). 

There are two published cases from the Ninth Circuit on the dismissal of jurors under 

California Penal Code § 1089. The Ninth Circuit has determined that the California jurorsubstitution procedure in California Penal Code § 1089 is constitutionally adequate because it 

“preserve[s] the ‘essential feature’ of the jury required by the Sixth and Fourteenth 

Amendments.’” Miller v. Stagner, 757 F.2d 988, 995 (9th Cir. 1985) (quoting Williams v. 

Florida, 399 U.S. 78, 100 (1970)). In Miller, the trial court dismissed two jurors on the fifth day 

of deliberations. One juror had called in sick with the flu, and the parties agreed that she could be 

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dismissed and replaced. After learning that another juror thought the second juror had been 

intoxicated, the trial court held a hearing at which the second juror admitted having fallen asleep 

but denied having been intoxicated and other witnesses testified that they smelled alcohol on his 

breath. Id. The trial court dismissed the second juror, replaced the two dismissed jurors with 

alternates, and instructed the jury to begin deliberations anew. The petitioners complained that the 

dismissal and replacement of the two jurors deprived them of their rights to trial by jury and due 

process. Id. The Ninth Circuit disagreed, concluding that the procedures followed by the trial 

court did not violate the petitioners’ federal constitutional rights and “preserved the ‘essential 

feature’ of the jury required by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.” Id. Miller determined 

that “section 1089 is facially valid under the Sixth Amendment.” Perez v. Marshall, 119 F.3d 

1422, 1426 (9th Cir. 1997). The second case from the Ninth Circuit, Perez, held that substantial 

evidence supported the state trial court’s conclusion that a juror’s emotional instability that 

rendered her incapable of participating in further deliberations provided good cause to remove her 

from the jury. “The trial court conducted a lengthy interview with juror Robles before determining 

that she was unfit to continue deliberating” due to her emotionally upset state. Id. The Ninth 

Circuit also held that the fact that the emotionally upset juror in Perez was known by the trial 

court to be a holdout juror – i.e., she wanted to acquit while other jurors wanted to convict – did 

not improperly influence the trial court’s decision to dismiss her. Id. at 1424, 1427.7

In his direct appeal (and here) Mr. Patino pointed to absolutely nothing, other than the fact 

of dismissal of the juror itself, to suggest that there was a violation of his jury-trial right. But the 

mere dismissal of a juror simply is not enough to show a violation of the constitutional right to a 

7

 The dissent in Perez focused on the fact that the other jurors knew the trial court had dismissed 

the juror who was known to them and the court to be the lone holdout juror. Id. at 1428-29 

(Nelson, J., dissenting). In the dissenting judge’s view, the dismissal of the holdout juror sent “a 

strong message to the remaining 11 jurors that the trial court endorsed their proclivity for 

conviction and implicitly encouraged them to ‘hold their position.’ This kind of reverse coercion 

interferes with the jury’s independent deliberations and threatens the defendant’s Sixth 

Amendment right to a fair trial.” Id. at 1429 (Nelson, J., dissenting) (citation omitted). The 

dissent in Perez touched upon a key concern in dismissing a juror: that a judge might purposely or 

inadvertently tip the scales toward a conviction. That concern simply was not present in Mr. 

Patino’s case because the jury had not even started deliberations and Juror B2 was not a holdout 

juror. 

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trial by jury. As with most of his other claims, this claim was presented primarily as a claim for a 

state-law error and included only a passing reference to the violation of a federal constitutional 

right. Mr. Patino did not attempt – here or in his state court appeal – to explain just how the 

dismissal of Juror B2 deprived him of a panel of impartial jurors. Mr. Patino provided no clues 

with his minimal case citations, which consist of two Supreme Court cases and one Ninth Circuit 

case: Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717 (1961); Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209 (1982); and Green v. 

White, 232 F.3d 671 (9th Cir. 2000). None of these cases have facts anywhere near to facts in Mr. 

Patino’s case. 

Irvin, 366 U.S. 717, 722, confronted the problem posed by extensive pretrial publicity that 

had tainted the jury pool. Irvin explained that, although it generally is sufficient “if the juror can 

lay aside his impression or opinion and render a verdict based on the evidence presented in court,” 

id. at 723, that rule does not foreclose inquiry when the circumstances suggest such widespread 

prejudice against a defendant that a fair trial cannot be had, see id. at 727-28. Smith, 455 U.S. 209, 

involved a juror who applied for a job with the district attorney’s office during the trial. The 

Supreme Court explained that its cases had established that “due process does not require a new 

trial every time a juror has been placed in a potentially compromising situation”; and held that 

there was no due process violation on the facts in that case. Id. at 217. Green v. White, 232 F.3d 

671, dealt with a juror who concealed his criminal history from the trial court, and told other jurors 

he believed the defendant was guilty as soon as he saw him and wished he could shoot the 

defendant. The Ninth Circuit granted habeas relief on the ground that the petitioner had been 

denied his right to trial by an impartial juror, concluding that the juror’s “pattern of lies, 

inappropriate behavior, and attempts to cover up his behavior introduced ‘destructive 

uncertainties’ into the fact-finding process” such that bias must be presumed. Id. at 676, 678. 

These cases do not involve any facts that were anywhere close to those present in Mr. Patino’s 

situation and do not provide any legal principles directly applicable to his claim. 

Relief on Mr. Patino’s claim is foreclosed under § 2254(d)(1) because the rejection of his 

claim was not contrary to, and did not involve an unreasonable application of, clearly established 

Federal law as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). In short, the U.S. 

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Supreme Court has never issued any holdings that give a clear answer to the questions presented 

by Mr. Patino’s claim. 

The Supreme Court has not issued a holding addressing the propriety of a trial court 

removing a juror due to an inability to continue to attend trial. Cf. Williams v. Johnson, 840 F.3d 

1006, 1009-10 (9th Cir. 2016) (explaining that, although the Ninth Circuit earlier had held that 

reversal is warranted when it is “reasonably possible” that a juror has been dismissed due to her 

position on the merits of the case, habeas relief was not available because there was no similar 

holding from the Supreme Court and circuit-level precedent could not be the basis to grant relief in 

a habeas case governed by § 2254); Victorian v. Singh, 584 F. App’x 742, 743 (9th Cir. 2014) (no 

habeas relief for petitioner who had “cited no United States Supreme Court case holding that 

dismissal of a juror, holdout or otherwise, is unconstitutional”). 

The Supreme Court also has not issued a holding that would govern resolution of Mr. 

Patino’s argument that the trial court should have paused the trial and made a daily determination 

of whether and when Juror B2 could return to jury duty based on the state of her son’s health. The 

Supreme Court has held that it is reversible error for a trial court to inquire about the extent of the 

jury’s numerical division when a jury reports that it is deadlocked. Brasfield v. United States, 272 

U.S. 448, 449-50 (1926). Brasfield does not aid in determining whether Mr. Patino is entitled to 

relief because the jury in his case had not even started deliberating so the trial court had no 

occasion to inquire about the nature and extent of the jury’s numerical division before considering 

whether Juror B2 should be dismissed. Although Brasfield puts a limit on how far a court may go 

-- i.e., it may not ask about the extent of the jury’s numerical division -- Brasfield simply provides 

no help in determining how far a trial court must go in making inquiries in response to a juror who 

reports that she is unable to continue serving on the jury. 

Finally, the Supreme Court has not issued a holding that the Constitution requires a trial 

court to try alternative remedies, such as postponing the trial in the hopes that Juror B2’s son’s 

illness would be short-lived, before choosing to dismiss a juror. 

Due to the absence of a holding from the U. S. Supreme Court on point, § 2254(d)(1) bars 

relief on Mr. Patino’s claim that his right to trial by an impartial jury was violated when the trial 

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court dismissed Juror B2. Even if one considered the statement in Smith v. Phillips that due 

process requires a jury “capable and willing to decide the case solely on the evidence before it, and 

a trial judge ever watchful to prevent prejudicial occurrences and to determine the effect of such 

occurrences when they happen,” 455 U.S. at 217, to provide clearly established federal law from 

the U.S. Supreme Court, the California Court of Appeal’s decision was not contrary to, or an 

unreasonable application of, that decision. 

The trial court made a “find[ing] that Juror B2 is unable to perform – continue to perform 

her duty as a juror now because of her family emergency, which is the illness of her son.” RT 

1002. That finding is presumed correct here. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e). The California Court of 

Appeal reasonably could have held that the trial court made an adequate inquiry into the facts 

before determining that Juror B2 should be dismissed due to her need to care for her sick child. 

The California Court of Appeal also reasonably could have concluded that the trial judge satisfied 

the duty to be “ever watchful to prevent prejudicial occurrences,” Smith, 455 U.S. at 217, and that 

there was no prejudicial occurrence on the facts presented. There was no hint of misconduct by 

the juror; she simply had a sick child who needed her attention. And there was no suggestion that 

Juror B2 was a holdout juror; indeed, deliberations had not even begun. Mr. Patino is not entitled 

to the writ on this claim. 

E. Claim Of Prosecutorial Misconduct In Closing Argument The Impact of The System On 

The Victim And The Defense Calling The Victim A Liar 

1. Background 

Mr. Patino claims that his federal due process right to a fair trial was violated when, during 

closing argument, the prosecutor appealed to the passion and prejudice of the jurors with 

references to the impact the criminal justice system was having on the minor victim and 

denigrated defense counsel for challenging Doe’s testimony. Docket No. 1 at 42. The comments 

in question are the italicized statements made in this rebuttal argument: 

Now, it’s not easy being a child molest victim, having to answer 

questions from everyone, having adults ask you over and over the 

same thing, having to go to [Child Protective Services], go to Calico 

[i.e., a center to report and be interviewed about child abuse], talk to 

the D.A.’s office, testify at a preliminary hearing for day and a half, 

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testify at this trial over the course of two days, answering every 

question from so many different people. And God forbid there’s 

any deviation in any answers then be attacked by the defense as 

being inconsistent. It’s not easy being a child molest victim being 

accused of lying. 

Defense said, Oh, your heart goes out to her. No. The defense is 

calling her a liar. 

RT 1192. Defense counsel then objected that this was “improper argument,” and the court 

overruled the objection. RT 1192. 

Mr. Patino argued on appeal (as he does here) that the comment that it was “not easy being 

a child molest victim” improperly appealed to the jurors to feel sympathy toward the victim. And 

he argues that the argument that “the defense is calling her a liar” improperly denigrated defense 

counsel. 

The California Court of Appeal first rejected Mr. Patino’s claim that the argument that it 

was “not easy being a child molest victim” improperly appealed to the jurors to feel sympathy 

toward the victim: 

“A criminal prosecutor has much latitude when making a closing 

argument. Her argument may be strongly worded and vigorous so 

long as it fairly comments on the evidence admitted at trial or asks 

the jury to draw reasonable inferences and deductions from that 

evidence.” (People v. Seumanu (2015) 61 Cal.4th 1293, 1330 

(Seumanu).) 

“‘The applicable federal and state standards regarding prosecutorial 

misconduct are well established. “‘A prosecutor’s . . . intemperate 

behavior violates the federal Constitution when it comprises a 

pattern of conduct “so egregious that it infects the trial with such 

unfairness as to make the conviction a denial of due process.”’” . . . 

“It is ‘settled that an appeal to the jury to view the crime through the 

eyes of the victim is misconduct at the guilt phase of trial; an appeal 

for sympathy for the victim is out of place during an objective 

determination of guilt. [Citations.]’” (People v. Arias (1996) 13 

Cal.4th 92, 160.) 

. . . [T]he prosecutor did not improperly ask the jury to view the 

crime through the eyes of the victim. (He did not, for example, ask 

the jury to imagine the emotional and physical pain Doe must have 

suffered from the continuous sexual abuse inflicted by Patino.) 

Rather, he was pointing out how difficult it was for Doe to talk 

about the embarrassing details of the crime repeatedly with 

strangers, a point Doe herself made when she testified that she was 

embarrassed to talk about what Patino did to her. Taken in context, 

it is clear the prosecutor was arguing that this difficulty could 

explain the discrepancies in Doe’s allegations over time. The 

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prosecutor’s comment was a permissible response to defense 

counsel’s attack on Doe’s credibility. 

Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *11-12. 

The California Court of Appeal also rejected the claim that the prosecutor had improperly 

denigrated defense counsel by saying “the defense is calling [Doe] a liar”: 

“‘“A prosecutor commits misconduct if he or she attacks the 

integrity of defense counsel, or casts aspersions on defense counsel.” 

[Citations.] “In evaluating a claim of such misconduct, we 

determine whether the prosecutor’s comments were a fair response 

to defense counsel’s remarks” [citation], and whether there is a 

reasonable likelihood the jury construed the remarks in an 

objectionable fashion [citation].’ [Citation.] . . . 

We see nothing improper in this comment. In her closing argument, 

defense counsel told the jury Doe “had every reason in the world to 

make up these allegations” and she had “motive to lie.” (Italics 

added.) The prosecutor’s comment that “the defense calls the victim 

a liar” was a fair response to defense counsel’s remarks. 

Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *12. 

As the last reasoned decision from a state court, the California Court of Appeal’s decision 

is the decision to which § 2254(d) is applied. See Wilson, 138 S. Ct. at 1192. Mr. Patino is 

entitled to habeas relief only if the California Court of Appeal’s decision was contrary to, or an 

unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law from the U.S. Supreme Court, or was 

based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented 

a. Analysis of Federal Constitutional Claim 

The appropriate standard of review for a prosecutorial-misconduct claim in a federal 

habeas corpus action is the narrow one of due process and not the broad exercise of supervisory 

power. Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 181 (1986) (“it ‘is not enough that the prosecutors’ 

remarks were undesirable or even universally condemned’”); Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 219 

(1982) (“the touchstone of due process analysis in cases of alleged prosecutorial misconduct is the 

fairness of the trial, not the culpability of the prosecutor”). Under Darden, the inquiry is whether 

the prosecutor’s behavior or remarks were improper and, if so, whether they infected the trial with 

unfairness. Tan v. Runnels, 413 F.3d 1101, 1112 (9th Cir. 2005). The “Darden standard is a very 

general one, leaving courts ‘more leeway . . . in reaching outcomes in case-by-case 

determinations.’” Parker v. Matthews, 567 U.S. 37, 48 (2012) (omission in original) (quoting 

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Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 664 (2004)). 

Here, the California Court of Appeal’s rejection of these claims of prosecutorial 

misconduct was a reasonable application of the federal constitutional standard. As the state 

appellate court reasonably determined, the prosecutor’s comments were a fair response to defense 

counsel’s remarks. 

A prosecutor’s comment in rebuttal “must be evaluated in light of the defense argument 

that preceded it.” Darden, 477 U.S. at 179. “Criticism of defense theories and tactics is a proper 

subject of closing argument.” United States v. Sayetsitty, 107 F.3d 1405, 1409 (9th Cir. 1997); cf. 

United States v. Frederick, 78 F.3d 1370, 1379-80 (9th Cir. 1996) (prosecutor's back-handed 

compliment to defense lawyer for confusing witness, which appeared to imply that his methods 

were somewhat underhanded and designed to prevent truth from coming out, was improper but not 

alone reversible error). Here, the prosecutor’s comments that it was “not easy” to be a child 

molestation victim and that the defense had called Doe a liar were fair responses to the efforts of 

defense counsel in the defense closing argument to show that Doe had lied. It was not an 

unreasonable application of Darden for the California Court of Appeal to reject the prosecutorialmisconduct claim. 

The comment that it was “not easy being a child molest victim” related directly to the 

defense closing argument that tried to undermine Doe’s credibility by pointing out how her story 

had changed over the course of several months as she was interviewed by different adults. 

Defense counsel had argued that Doe’s “descriptions of sexual acts sound sort of like what a 16-

year-old has cobbled together from T.V., internet, her friends. . . . Sounds more like a description 

than an actual memory.” RT 1160. Defense counsel had then suggested that Doe was making 

things up, pointing at the variations between her statements at Child Protective Services, the 

Calico Center, and the D.A.’s office, as well as during interviews before the preliminary hearing 

and in her testimony at the preliminary hearing. RT 1160-61. Defense counsel had argued, for 

example, that Doe’s statements that Mr. Patino had kissed her in the shower and put something in 

her vagina when her eyes were covered were “really bizarre” in that “they don’t come up until 

very late in her description of these events.” RT 1160. Defense counsel then continued: “I went 

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through with her on the stand each and every time she has talked about these events”: Doe had not 

mentioned these two incidents in her statements at Child Protective Services, the Calico Center, 

and the D.A.’s office in 2016 – and that it was not until “the fourth time she’s talked about the 

events of this case that she first tells that story about her eyes being covered and something that’s 

not his thumb going inside her vagina.” RT 1160-61. A few sentences later, defense counsel had 

argued that it “seems like that’s something you’d remember when person after person after person 

is asking you to tell them everything you remember about being sexually abused.” RT 1161. As 

to a kiss in the shower that Doe first described in later questioning, defense counsel had urged: 

“Isn’t that something she would have remembered earlier if that had actually happened?” RT 

1162; see also id. (“And if it had happened, she would have told someone sooner than two years 

after the first time she talks about this.”). Defense counsel then argued: 

When [Doe] came in and testified, I think all of our hearts broke for 

her a little bit because the pain that she felt and the pain that she 

showed was real. That’s pain that she has felt throughout this entire 

family dynamic. . . . It’s so tempting to see her tears and gloss over 

the fact that there really isn’t much evidence here, to gloss over the 

fact that there are actual holes in the prosecution’s case. [¶] We 

know that she did this to control her mother’s actions. 

RT 1170-71. 

In light of the extensive defense arguments about the variations in Doe’s statements to 

various authorities, the prosecutor did not render the trial fundamentally unfair with his responsive 

rebuttal argument that it was “not easy being a child molest victim,” having to discuss highly 

personal and embarrassing details over and over again, only to be criticized for any discrepancies 

in her statements. 

With regard to the prosecutor’s specific statement that the defense was calling Doe a liar, 

the state appellate court’s rejection of the prosecutorial-misconduct claim was reasonable. 

Although defense counsel may not have used the exact word “liar” to describe Doe, the 

overwhelming force of defense counsel’s closing argument was that Doe lied in accusing Mr. 

Patino of molesting her. 

Before the prosecutor made the statement in rebuttal, defense counsel had argued at length 

that Doe had fabricated the charges against Mr. Patino in an effort to get Doe’s mother to break off 

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her relationship with Mr. Patino because Doe knew Mr. Patino abused Doe’s mother. See RT 

1148-51; e.g., RT 1148 (defense counsel arguing that “I’m not quite done talking about the 

relationship between Edgar and [Doe’s mother] because it’s from the tumult and the drama of that 

relationship that these molestation allegations arise.”); RT 1153 (defense counsel arguing that, 

when the extended family reported that Mr. Patino was physically abusing Doe’s mother, the 

police did nothing and told Doe: “we need someone who says, I have been the victim of a crime to 

make a report before we can actually do anything. And so that conversation with the Hayward 

police plants an idea in the back of [Doe’s] mind.”); RT 1154 (defense counsel arguing that, after 

Doe’s cousins tell her later that “everyone is wondering why you didn’t do more to get your Mom 

to leave him that she first – for the very first time says Edgar [Patino] molested me.”). Defense 

counsel also had argued: 

[W]hen you were doing jury selection – we asked you questions 

about whether or not kids lie and a lot of you wrote that in general 

kids don’t have a reason to lie. And I think that’s probably true 

most of the time. But that’s not true in this case. [¶] Doe had every 

reason in the world to make up these allegations. She had two years 

worth of reasons to make up these allegations. And she comes from 

a family where truth telling isn’t valued that highly, where words 

don’t really need to be true. They just need to be what needs to be 

said to get whatever you want in that particular situation. So she 

used the tools she had been taught. She used her words to get what 

she wanted. And she’s still doing that. [¶] Her motive to lie by 

itself is reasonable doubt. How can you possibly be sure that she’s 

telling the truth when her motive to lie is so strong and so 

understandable. 

RT 1157. 

Given the foregoing arguments by the defense that plainly and repeatedly suggested that 

Doe was lying and doing so for an ulterior motive, the prosecutor’s statement in rebuttal that the 

defense was calling Doe a liar did not make the trial fundamentally unfair. The California Court 

of Appeal reasonably so determined. 

2. Asserting That Child Molestation Is Underreported 

a. Background 

Mr. Patino asserts that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct by referring to facts outside 

the record when he argued that child molestation was an under-reported crime. Docket No. 1 at 

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42. 

During his rebuttal argument, the prosecutor took aim at the several defense witnesses who 

opined that Mr. Patino did not have the character trait for sexual deviancy with children. The 

prosecutor argued that the defense witnesses’ opinions were of little use given the lack of 

testimony that they ever talked to Mr. Patino about his sexual desires. The prosecutor argued: 

“Defense witnesses claim he’s not a sexual deviant with children because he never acted that way 

in front of them. Well people such as the defendant don’t act out their sexual deviancies involving 

children in front of friends. [¶] How many times has the world been fooled by friends, family and 

neighbors? How many times do you see on the T.V. news the reporters interviewing neighbors 

[sic] someone has just committed a horrible crime the neighbor says, it’s a quiet neighborhood.” 

RT 1180-81. Defense counsel objected that this was “improper argument,” and the court 

overruled the objection. RT 1181. Later, the prosecutor argued that having to disclose very 

personal information to many people and having people accusing a child molestation victim of 

making things up made it difficult to be a child molestation victim and said: “It’s no wonder why 

child molestation is a vastly underreported crime.” RT 1192 (emphasis added). 

The California Court of Appeal explained that “‘counsel may not assume or state facts not 

in evidence . . . or mischaracterize the evidence,’” Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *12, but found no 

violation of that rule. 

[In making a record after the jury argument, the] prosecutor 

explained this comment was a “common sense” argument that child 

molesters conduct their crimes in private and in a manner so as not 

to be detected. The trial court understood the comment as making 

the point that “the nature of the offense is one that is not spoken of 

or broadcast.” The Attorney General further argues the prosecutor’s 

comment was an appropriate response to the defense character 

witnesses' assertions that they had never seen Patino display sexual 

interest in a child. All of these points are well taken; the 

prosecutor’s comment was a permissible response to the defense 

character evidence. In this context, we believe the comment was 

fair argument, not an improper statement of fact. Nor do we see 

how the jury could have understood or applied the comment in an 

erroneous manner or in a manner that would harm Patino. 

Patino, 2018 WL 4113155, at *13. 

The California Court of Appeal also determined that the specific comment that “child 

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molestation is a vastly underreported crime” was not improper because it was based on evidence 

presented at trial. Id. Specifically, “Dr. Rachel Gilgoff--who was called by the prosecution as an 

expert in pediatrics, child sexual assault, and child sexual assault exams--testified, ‘The vast 

majority of people who have been sexually abused never disclose that abuse.’” Id. 

b. Analysis Of Federal Constitutional Claim 

The California Court of Appeal’s rejection of the prosecutorial-misconduct claim was a 

reasonable application of the federal constitutional standard that only conduct that makes the trial 

“fundamentally unfair” warrants habeas relief. A prosecutor “is granted reasonable latitude to 

fashion closing arguments,” and is “free to argue reasonable inferences from the evidence.” 

United States v. Gray, 876 F.2d 1411, 1417 (9th Cir. 1989). As the state appellate court 

reasonably determined, the prosecutor’s comment that the defense witnesses would not have been 

in a position to make an informed decision about whether Mr. Patino had sexual desires for 

children was a common sense argument that child molesting is a crime done in private to avoid 

detection. “It is expected that jurors will bring their life experiences to bear on the facts of a 

case.” Hard v. Burlington N. Ry. Co., 870 F.2d 1454, 1462 (9th Cir. 1989); see also Head v. 

Hargrave, 105 U.S. 45, 49 (1881) (“far from laying aside their own general knowledge and ideas, 

the jury should have applied that knowledge and those ideas to the matters of fact in evidence in 

determining the weight to be given to the opinions expressed; and it was only in that way that they 

could arrive at a just conclusion”). Moreover, the argument that the defense witnesses were not 

able to give informed opinions about whether Mr. Patino had a deviant interest in children was 

consistent with the jury instructions. The jury was instructed that, in evaluating a witness’ 

testimony, the jurors could consider “how well could the witness see, hear or otherwise perceive 

the things about which the witness testified.” RT 1213. The jury also was instructed that, “[i]n 

deciding whether testimony is true and accurate, use your common sense and experience.” RT 

1213. The trial was not rendered fundamentally unfair when the prosecutor highlighted that the 

defense character witnesses had no real basis on which to base their opinions about whether Mr. 

Patino had a deviant interest in young girls. 

The state appellate court also reasonably determined that the particular statement that child 

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molestation is an underreported crime was not improper because it was a reasonable summation of 

the testimony from the expert witness, who had testified that most sexual abuse victims never 

disclose the abuse. 

Mr. Patino is not entitled to the writ on his prosecutorial-misconduct claims because he has 

not shown that the California Court of Appeal’s rejection of those claims was an unreasonable 

application of Darden’s rule that a due process violation occurs only when the prosecutor’s 

conduct makes the trial “fundamentally unfair.” See Darden, 477 U.S. at 181. 

F. No Certificate of Appealability 

A certificate of appealability will not issue. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c). This is not a case in 

which “reasonable jurists would find the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims 

debatable or wrong.” Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000). Accordingly, a certificate of 

appealability is DENIED. 

VI. CONCLUSION 

For the foregoing reasons, the petition for writ of habeas corpus is DENIED on the merits. 

The Clerk shall close the file. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: May 27, 2020 

______________________________________ 

EDWARD M. CHEN 

United States District Judge 

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