Court Opinion

ID: 9496484
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:27:57.282112+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:36.610389
License: Public Domain

GRABER, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
I concur because the state court expressly reasoned to its decision in a manner that contradicted express Supreme Court reasoning on the same legal issue. In this way the state court’s decision was “contrary to” established Supreme Court case law, 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). See Early v. Packer, 537 U.S. 3, 8, 123 S.Ct. 362, 154 L.Ed.2d 263 (2002) (per curiam).
I write separately to note that a denial on timeliness grounds of a Faretta1 motion made in the third week of a four-week trial would neither have been contrary to, nor have involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Supreme Court case law. Applying Supreme Court precedent, we have held that there is no midtrial Faretta right. United States v. Bishop, 291 F.3d 1100, 1114 (9th Cir.2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1176, 123 S.Ct. 1002, 154 L.Ed.2d 920 (2003); United States v. Smith, 780 F.2d 810, 811 (9th Cir.1986) (per curiam). A state-court decision that reached the same conclusion would not entitle a defendant to habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). The state court’s decision in this case, however, cannot fairly be read to have rested on the ground of timeliness.

. Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975).