Rolando Ruiz v. Lorie Davis, Director

PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:

Rolando Ruiz murdered Theresa Rodriguez in 1992; he has been sentenced to death by lethal injection, and his execution is now set for March 7, 2017. At this late hour, Ruiz seeks a certificate of appealability to allow review of the rejection by the United States District Court of his most recent federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He contends that the district court erred by affording deference to the state court’s determination of federal law — specifically, by applying the deferential standard of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty…