Merwin Hill v. Dora Schriro, et al, No. 09-15058 (9th Cir. 2010)
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FILED AUG 26 2010 NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT MERWIN MICHAEL HILL, Petitioner - Appellant, No. 09-15058 D.C. No. 2:07-cv-00762-ROS v. MEMORANDUM * CHARLES L. RYAN *** and TERRY GODDARD, Respondents - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Roslyn O. Silver, District Judge, Presiding Submitted August 10, 2010 ** Before: HAWKINS, McKEOWN, and IKUTA, Circuit Judges. Arizona state prisoner Merwin Michael Hill appeals pro se from the district court s judgment denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We have * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). *** Charles L. Ryan is substituted for his predecessor Dora B. Schriro as Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. See Fed. R. App. P. 43(c)(2). jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253, and we affirm. Hill contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel rendering his guilty plea involuntary because his trial counsel failed to interview several witnesses before Hill pled guilty and his trial counsel failed to challenge the sufficiency of the State s evidence supporting the serious physical injury element of Hill s aggravated assault charge. However, the Arizona court s denial of Hill s claims was not an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court law. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1); see also Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 57-59 (1985) (holding that two-part Strickland v. Washington test applies to challenges to guilty pleas based on ineffective assistance of counsel). AFFIRMED. 2 09-15058
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