Ricardo Arias v. Blaine Lafler

JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner-appellant Ricardo Arias, a Michigan inmate, appeals the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Following a jury trial in state court, Arias was convicted of possession of 650 grams or more of cocaine and sentenced to a term of life imprisonment. He argues that the admission of a confidential informant’s statements to police at his trial violated his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation and was “contrary to” and involved an “unreasonable application” of clearly established federal law. Because we find…