Reyes v. Keane, 118 F. 3d 136 - Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 1997

Petitioner-appellant Edwardo Reyes appeals from a judgment entered in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Cote, J.) dismissing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the court having found, inter alia, that Reyes had procedurally defaulted on his claim that the reasonable doubt jury instruction in his state trial was constitutionally defective. We previously granted Reyes a certificate of appealability limited to his claim concerning the jury instruction and whether that claim was forfeited by reason of procedural default. We now conclude that Reyes cannot escape the procedural bar and therefore affirm