The following excerpt is from Montiel v. Chappell, Case No. 1:96-cv-05412-LJO-SAB (E.D. Cal. 2014):
"A habeas petitioner is entitled to an evidentiary hearing if: (1) the allegations in his petition would, if proved, entitle him to relief, and (2) the state court trier of fact has not, after a full and fair hearing, reliably found the relevant facts." Phillips v. Woodford, 267 F.3d 966, 973 (9th Cir. 2001)(emphasis in original). "The standard governing such requests establishes a reasonably low threshold for habeas petitioners to meet." Id.
Entitlement to an evidentiary hearing is limited further under 28 U.S.C. 2254(e)(2), which states:
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