Contreras v. Garcia

MEMORANDUM*

Appellant Wayne Contreras requests a remand to district court for application of Bennett v. Mueller, 322 F.3d 573, 586 (9th Cir.2003), to his habeas petition. We see *103no need to remand this case, as the adequacy of a state procedural bar is a matter of law that we review de novo. See Cockett v. Ray, 333 F.3d 938, 941 (9th Cir.2003).

The California Supreme Court’s holding in In re Lindley, 29 Cal.2d 709, 723, 177 P.2d 918 (1947), that sufficieney-of-the-evidence issues are not cognizable on habeas and must be raised on direct appeal, is an adequate and independent state ground upon…