Gregory Dean Caliendo v. Warden of California Men's Colony

CYNTHIA HOLCOMB HALL, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner Gregory Caliendo appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. He contends that the California Court of Appeal’s decision upholding his conviction was contrary to Supreme Court precedent because the court did not presume prejudice from an incident of juror misconduct. A detective who provided testimony that was crucial to the prosecution’s case had a twenty-minute conversation, factually unrelated to the trial, with three jurors in the hallway during a break in deliberations.

We exercise jurisdiction under 28…