U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2017

Samuel Amankrah v. F. Chavez

Samuel Amankrah v. F. Chavez
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Decided April 20, 2017 · Gould, Clifton, Hurwitz
688 F. App'x 455

Samuel Amankrah v. F. Chavez

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

California state prisoner Samuel Kwame Amankrah appeals pro se from the district court s judgment denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253. We review de novo the denial of a habeas corpus petition, see Fairbank v. Ayers, 650 F.3d 1243, 1250 (9th Cir. 2011), and we affirm.

Amankrah argues that the prosecutor made several remarks during closing argument that violated Amankrah’s Fifth Amendment right not to testify under Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 615, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed,2d 106 (1965). The California Court of Appeal analyzed the prosecutor’s entire closing argument and concluded that two of the comments were improper, but that the Griffin error was harmless under Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967). The state court’s rejection of Amankrah’s claim was not contrary to, nor an unreasonable application of, either Griffin or Chapman, nor an unreasonable determination of facts based on the evidence presented. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d); see also Davis v. Ayala, — U.S. -, 135 S.Ct. 2187, 2199, 192 L.Ed.2d 323 (2015). Moreover, given the significant evidence of his guilt at trial, Amankrah has not shown that the prosecutor’s remarks had a “substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury’s verdict.” Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 637, 113 S.Ct. 1710, 123 L.Ed.2d 353 (1993) (internal quotations omitted); see also Davis, 135 S.Ct. at 2198.

Amankrah’s motion to present late new evidence is denied.

AFFIRMED.

**

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

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