Vasquez v. Kirkland

BETTY B. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

Daniel Vasquez, a California prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Vasquez was convicted in California state court of the first-degree murder of Frank Hernandez. He alleges that he was denied his Sixth Amendment rights under the Confrontation Clause because he was unable effectively to cross-examine the prosecution’s key witness, Carmen Zapata. Zapata, the victim’s mother, is deaf, cannot speak, and has never learned a standard sign language. Rather, she communicates by using a combination of signs,…