Marco Zabala v. Robert Horel, No. 09-56612 (9th Cir. 2011)

Annotate this Case
Download PDF
FILED JAN 24 2011 NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT MARCO SANTIAGO ZABALA, Petitioner - Appellant, No. 09-56612 D.C. No. 5:08-cv-00647-MLG v. MEMORANDUM * ROBERT HOREL, Warden, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Marc L. Goldman, Magistrate Judge,** Presiding Submitted January 10, 2011 *** Before: BEEZER, TALLMAN, and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges. * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. This case was assigned, by the consent of the parties, to a Magistrate Judge, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1). ** *** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). California state prisoner Marco Santiago Zabala appeals from the district court s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253, and we affirm. Zabala contends that the state court s conclusion that the erroneous admission of evidence at trial was harmless was contrary to, and an unreasonable application of, clearly established Supreme Court law. However, Zabala has failed to demonstrate that the state court s application of Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (1967), was objectively unreasonable. See Mitchell v. Esparza, 540 U.S. 12, 18 (2003) (per curiam). Further, in light of the other evidence of guilt admitted at trial, Zabala has failed to establish that the trial error had a substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury s verdict. See Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 637 (1993). AFFIRMED. 2 09-56612 3 09-56612

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.