Unpublished Dispositionfred D. Johnson, Petitioner-appellant, v. David L. Baker, Warden, Respondent-appellee, 898 F.2d 154 (6th Cir. 1990)

ORDER

This case has been referred to a panel of the court pursuant to Rule 9(a), Rules of the Sixth Circuit. Upon examination of the record and the briefs, this panel unanimously agrees that oral argument is not needed. Fed. R. App. P. 34(a).

Fred D. Johnson, an Ohio inmate, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in which he challenged the constitutionality of a 1979 aggravated murder conviction. The district court ultimately denied the relief sought and this appeal followed. The parties have briefed the issues, Johnson proceeding without counsel.

Upon consideration, we find ample support in the record and law for the district court's decision. The district court found, and we agree, that Johnson's claims centering on the warrantless arrest and alleged pretrial denial of counsel were barred from consideration under Harris v. Reed, 109 S. Ct. 1038, 1042-43 (1989), and Engel v. Isaac, 456 U.S. 107, 129 (1982). The claims concerning the admission of a prosecutorial reference to a recorded confession did not render the trial fundamentally unfair. Donnelly v. DeChristoforo, 416 U.S. 637 (1974); Cooper v. Sowders, 837 F.2d 284, 286 (6th Cir. 1988).

Accordingly, for these reasons and for the reasons set forth exhaustively in the district court's opinion of April 6, 1989, the judgment on appeal is affirmed. Rule 9(b) (5), Rules of the Sixth Circuit.