Opinion ID: 3064455
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The state court’s factual determinations

Text: DeWeaver argues that the state court ignored material evidence in determining that the record contained no indication of coercion. He argues that, as a result, the state court’s factfinding process was defective and its decision based on an unreasonable determination of the facts. In Taylor v. Maddox, 366 F.3d 992, 1000 (9th Cir. 2001), on which DeWeaver relies, this court cautioned that “before we can determine that the state-court fact-finding process is defective in some mateDEWEAVER v. RUNNELS 2219 rial way . . . , we must be satisfied that any appellate court to whom the defect is pointed out would be unreasonable in holding that the . . . fact-finding process was adequate.” In Taylor, this court determined that no reasonable appellate tribunal would ignore the testimony of a witness that corroborated the petitioner’s version of challenged events. Because the state court had blatantly ignored such probative evidence, this court set aside its findings as unreasonable. Id. at 100507. In contrast, DeWeaver disagrees with the state court’s interpretation of the record but does not point to any material fact that the court failed to consider. The state appellate court accurately recounted the trial court’s interactions with the jury; nothing in the record indicates that its fact-finding process was unreasonable. Insofar as DeWeaver argues that the state appellate court failed to properly weigh the evidence, we consider this further in analyzing whether the court’s legal conclusion regarding coerciveness was contrary to or an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent.