Opinion ID: 159782
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Legal Standard Used by State Court

Text: The state court had been advised of the Soto Hernandez issue and was clearly aware from its analysis that a total breakdown in communication can support an ineffective assistance claim. We therefore conclude that the court’s factual findings were not based on “an erroneous view of the governing law,” Lafferty, 949 F.2d at 1552 n.4. 3. Fair Support in the Record for the State Court’s Findings Our review of the state court record reveals ample evidence that there was not here a total lack of communication. With respect to the plea negotiations, it is undisputed that Ms. Jordan communicated the state’s offer to him and encouraged him to accept it. And there is ample support for the state court’s conclusion that Appellant’s refusal to cooperate was simply a trial strategy born out of desperation. - 11 - Because Appellant has not shown that any exception to the presumption established in § 2254(d) applies, we are bound by the state court’s determination that no complete breakdown of communication occurred. Accordingly, it was not error for the district court to deny an evidentiary hearing. 4 See Scrivner v. Tansy, 68 F.3d 1234, 1242 (10th Cir. 1995) (“Even if disputed issues of fact are raised, a habeas petitioner is entitled to a hearing in federal court only if he did not receive a full and fair evidentiary hearing in a state court . . . which resulted in reliable findings.”) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).