Mario Torres v. MARTIN BITER, Warden

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
MARIO TORRES,
Petitioner-Appellant,
v.
MARTIN BITER, Warden,
Respondent-Appellee.
No. 15-55111
D.C. No.
2:10-cv-03537-JLS-SP
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Josephine L. Staton, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted November 9, 2016
Pasadena, California
Before: SCHROEDER and BYBEE, Circuit Judges, and SMITH,** Chief District
Judge.
Mario Torres, a California prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of his
petition for writ of habeas corpus. Torres was sentenced to a total term of sixteen
years to life after being convicted by a jury of first degree robbery, in violation of
FILED
DEC 08 2016
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The Honorable William E. Smith, Chief United States District Judge
for the District of Rhode Island, sitting by designation.

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Cal. Penal Code § 211, and possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of Cal.
Penal Code § 12021(a)(1).
On appeal, Torres contends that the district court erred in concluding that he
did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel during his state court proceedings.
The district court reached its decision after holding an evidentiary hearing.
In that hearing, Torres’s only evidence supporting his claim was his own
testimony that he would have accepted a plea offer but for his counsel’s incorrect
advice. The district court found Torres’s testimony not credible on the basis of a
number of contradictory and illogical statements by Torres during that hearing.
The district court’s findings were not clearly erroneous. The district court properly
concluded that, even assuming inadequate performance by counsel, Torres failed to
show prejudice from his counsel’s performance. See Strickland v. Washington,
466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984).
AFFIRMED.
2

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