Rivas v. Fischer

JOSÉ A. CABRANES, Circuit Judge:

The question presented is whether we are required to grant a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) because the state court in this case unreasonably applied Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), in rejecting petitioner Hector Rivas’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Rivas was convicted in Onondaga County Court of second-degree murder for the death of his former girlfriend, Valerie Hill. At trial, the prosecution argued that Rivas killed Hill on the night of Friday, March 27, 1987, at her…