FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION APR 28 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
STEVEN LEE VARNUM, No. 09-15350
Petitioner - Appellant, D.C. No. 2:04-cv-02659-GEB-
CHS
v.
RICHARD KIRKLAND, MEMORANDUM *
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
Garland E. Burrell, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted April 20, 2011 **
Before: RYMER, THOMAS, and PAEZ, Circuit Judges.
California state prisoner Steven Lee Varnum appeals from the district
court’s judgment denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We have
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253, and we affirm.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Varnum contends that the state court’s denial of his motion to suppress his
confession was a violation of his Fifth Amendment right to silence and counsel
under Miranda v Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). The state court denial of
Varnum’s motion was not an unreasonable determination of the facts and was
neither contrary to, nor an unreasonable application of, clearly established law as
determined by the Supreme Court of the United States. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d);
Davis v. United States, 512 U.S. 452, 459 (1994) (invocation of Miranda right to
counsel must be unambiguous such that a reasonable officer in light of the
circumstances would understand the statement to be invoking the right to counsel).
AFFIRMED.
2 09-15350