opinion: Patrick GLEBE, Superintendent, Stafford Creek Corrections Center
  v.
  Joshua James FROST.
  No. 14-95.
  Supreme Court of the United States
  Nov. 17, 2014.
  Opinion PER CURIAM.
  Over 11 days in April 2003, respondent Joshua Frost helped two associates commit a series of armed robberies in the State of Washington. In the main, Frost drove his confederates to and from their crimes. On one occasion, he also entered the house being robbed. On another, he performed surveillance in anticipation of the robbery.
  Washington charged Frost with robbery and related offenses. Taking the witness stand, Frost admitted to his involvement, but claimed he acted under duress. As closing arguments drew near, however, Frost's lawyer expressed the desire to contend both (1) that the State failed to meet its burden of proving that Frost was an accomplice to the crimes and (2) that Frost acted under duress. The trial judge insisted that the defense choose between these alternative arguments, explaining that state law prohibited a defendant from simultaneously contesting the elements of the crime and presenting the affirmative defense of duress. So Frost's lawyer limited his summation to duress. The jury convicted Frost of six counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, one count of burglary, and two counts of assault.
  The Washington Supreme Court sustained Frost's conviction. It rejected the trial court's view that state law prohibited Frost from simultaneously contesting criminal liability and arguing duress. State v. Frost,160 Wash.2d 765, 773-776, 161 P.3d 361, 366-368 (2007)(en banc). By preventing the defense from presenting both theories during summation, it said, the trial court violated the National Constitution's Due Process and Assistance of Counsel Clauses. Id.,at 777-779, 161 P.3d, at 368-369. But the State Supreme Court continued, this improper restriction of closing argument qualified as a trial error (a mistake reviewable for harmlessness) rather than a structural error (a mistake that requires automatic reversal). Id.,at 779-782, 161 P.3d, at 369-370. Because the jury heard three taped confessions and Frost's admission of guilt on the witness stand, and because it received proper instructions on the State's burden of proof, the State Supreme Court held that any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.Id.,at 782-783, 161 P.3d, at 370-371.
  Frost filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The District Court dismissed the petition, App. to Pet. for Cert. 76a, and a panel of the Court of Appeals affirmed, Frost v. Van Boening,692 F.3d 924 (C.A.9 2012). But the Court of Appeals en banc reversed and instructed the District Court to grant relief. 757 F.3d 910 (2014).
  Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), the Court of Appeals had power to grant Frost habeas corpus only if the Washington Supreme Court's decision "was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States," or "was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). Here, the Ninth Circuit held that the Washington Supreme Court unreasonably applied clearly established federal law by failing to classify the trial court's restriction of closing argument as structural error.
  That decision cannot stand. Assuming for argument's sake that the trial court violated the Constitution, it was not clearly established that its mistake ranked as structural error. Mostconstitutional mistakes call for reversal only if the government cannot demonstrate harmlessness. Neder v. United States,527 U.S. 1, 8, 119 S.Ct. 1827, 144 L.Ed.2d 35 (1999). Only the rare type of error-in general, one that " 'infect[s] the entire trial process' " and " 'necessarily render[s] [it] fundamentally unfair' "-requires automatic reversal. Ibid.None of our cases clearly requires placing improper restriction of closing argument in this narrow category.
  The Ninth Circuit claimed that the Washington Supreme Court contradicted Herring v. New York,422 U.S. 853, 95 S.Ct. 2550, 45 L.Ed.2d 593 (1975). Herringheld that complete denial of summation violates the Assistance of Counsel Clause. According to the Ninth Circuit, Herringfurther held that this denial amounts to structural error. We need not opine on the accuracy of that interpretation. For even assuming that Herringestablished that complete denialof summation amounts to structural error, it did not clearly establish that the restrictionof summation also amounts to structural error. A court could reasonably conclude, after all, that prohibiting all argument differs from prohibiting argument in the alternative. That is all the more true because our structural-error cases "ha[ve] not been characterized by [an] 'in for a penny, in for a pound' approach." Neder, supra,at 17, n. 2, 119 S.Ct. 1827.
  Attempting to bridge the gap between Herringand this case, the Ninth Circuit cited two Circuit precedents-United States v. Miguel,338 F.3d 995 (C.A.9 2003), and Conde v. Henry,198 F.3d 734 (C.A.9 2000)-for the proposition that "preventing a defendant from arguing a legitimate defense theory constitutes structural error." 757 F.3d, at 916. As we have repeatedly emphasized, however, circuit precedent does not constitute "clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court." § 2254(d)(1); see, e.g.,Lopez v. Smith,574 U.S. ----, ----, 135 S.Ct. 1, 4-5, ---L.Ed.2d ---- (2014)(per curiam). The Ninth Circuit acknowledged this rule, but tried to get past it by claiming that circuit precedent could " 'help ... determine what law is "clearly established." ' " 757 F.3d, at 916, n. 1. But neither Miguelnor Condearose under AEDPA, so neither purports to reflect the law clearly established by this Court's holdings. The Ninth Circuit thus had no justification for relying on those decisions. See Parker v. Matthews,567 U.S. ----, ----, 132 S.Ct. 2148, 2155-2156, 183 L.Ed.2d 32 (2012)(per curiam).
  The second rationale for the Court of Appeals' decision is no more sound than the first. The Ninth Circuit reasoned that, by allowing the prosecution to argue that it had proved the elements of the crimes, but "prohibit[ing]" the defense from responding that it had not, the trial court in effect "forc[ed] defense counsel to concede his client's guilt." 757 F.3d, at 917. By extracting this "conce[ssion]," the Ninth Circuit continued, the trial court "relieved the State of its burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," "shifted the burden of proof to Frost," and even "directed [a] verdict on guilt"-all "unquestionably structural [errors]." Id.,at 917-918.
  No. The trial court, to begin, did not prohibit the defense from arguing that the prosecution failed to prove the elements of the crime. It instead precluded the defense from simultaneouslycontesting reasonable doubt and claiming duress. Reasonable minds could disagree whether requiring the defense to choose between alternative theories amounts to requiring the defense to concede guilt. Still more could they disagree whether it amounts to eliminating the prosecution's burden of proof, shifting the burden to the defendant, or directing a verdict. In addition, even if the trial court's ruling somehow "forced" the defense "at least tacitly [to] admit the elements of the crimes," id.,at 913, the Ninth Circuit still would have no basis for ruling as it did. It goes much too far to suggest that our cases clearly establish that this supposed extraction of a "taci[t] admi[ssion]" is structural error, when they classify the introduction of a coerced confessiononly as trial error, Arizona v. Fulminante,499 U.S. 279, 310, 111 S.Ct. 1246, 113 L.Ed.2d 302 (1991).
  * * *
  Frost argued below that, even if it was reasonable for the State Supreme Court to treat improper restriction of summation as trial error, it was unreasonable for it to find harmlessness on the facts of this case. The Court of Appeals did not address this argument when sitting en banc, and it is not before us today.
  We grant the petition for a writ of certiorari and respondent's motion to proceed in forma pauperis. We reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
  It is so ordered.
choices: U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals U.S. Court of International Trade U.S. Court of Claims, Court of Federal Claims U.S. Court of Military Appeals, renamed as Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces U.S. Court of Military Review U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals U.S. Customs Court U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit U.S. Tax Court Temporary Emergency U.S. Court of Appeals U.S. Court for China U.S. Consular Courts U.S. Commerce Court Territorial Supreme Court Territorial Appellate Court Territorial Trial Court Emergency Court of Appeals Supreme Court of the District of Columbia Bankruptcy Court U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit (includes the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia but not the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which has local jurisdiction) Alabama Middle U.S. District Court Alabama Northern U.S. District Court Alabama Southern U.S. District Court Alaska U.S. District Court Arizona U.S. District Court Arkansas Eastern U.S. District Court Arkansas Western U.S. District Court California Central U.S. District Court California Eastern U.S. District Court California Northern U.S. District Court California Southern U.S. District Court Colorado U.S. District Court Connecticut U.S. District Court Delaware U.S. District Court District Of Columbia U.S. District Court Florida Middle U.S. District Court Florida Northern U.S. District Court Florida Southern U.S. District Court Georgia Middle U.S. District Court Georgia Northern U.S. District Court Georgia Southern U.S. District Court Guam U.S. District Court Hawaii U.S. District Court Idaho U.S. District Court Illinois Central U.S. District Court Illinois Northern U.S. District Court Illinois Southern U.S. District Court Indiana Northern U.S. District Court Indiana Southern U.S. District Court Iowa Northern U.S. District Court Iowa Southern U.S. District Court Kansas U.S. District Court Kentucky Eastern U.S. District Court Kentucky Western U.S. District Court Louisiana Eastern U.S. District Court Louisiana Middle U.S. District Court Louisiana Western U.S. District Court Maine U.S. District Court Maryland U.S. District Court Massachusetts U.S. District Court Michigan Eastern U.S. District Court Michigan Western U.S. District Court Minnesota U.S. District Court Mississippi Northern U.S. District Court Mississippi Southern U.S. District Court Missouri Eastern U.S. District Court Missouri Western U.S. District Court Montana U.S. District Court Nebraska U.S. District Court Nevada U.S. District Court New Hampshire U.S. District Court New Jersey U.S. District Court New Mexico U.S. District Court New York Eastern U.S. District Court New York Northern U.S. District Court New York Southern U.S. District Court New York Western U.S. District Court North Carolina Eastern U.S. District Court North Carolina Middle U.S. District Court North Carolina Western U.S. District Court North Dakota U.S. District Court Northern Mariana Islands U.S. District Court Ohio Northern U.S. District Court Ohio Southern U.S. District Court Oklahoma Eastern U.S. District Court Oklahoma Northern U.S. District Court Oklahoma Western U.S. District Court Oregon U.S. District Court Pennsylvania Eastern U.S. District Court Pennsylvania Middle U.S. District Court Pennsylvania Western U.S. District Court Puerto Rico U.S. District Court Rhode Island U.S. District Court South Carolina U.S. District Court South Dakota U.S. District Court Tennessee Eastern U.S. District Court Tennessee Middle U.S. District Court Tennessee Western U.S. District Court Texas Eastern U.S. District Court Texas Northern U.S. District Court Texas Southern U.S. District Court Texas Western U.S. District Court Utah U.S. District Court Vermont U.S. District Court Virgin Islands U.S. District Court Virginia Eastern U.S. District Court Virginia Western U.S. District Court Washington Eastern U.S. District Court Washington Western U.S. District Court West Virginia Northern U.S. District Court West Virginia Southern U.S. District Court Wisconsin Eastern U.S. District Court Wisconsin Western U.S. District Court Wyoming U.S. District Court Louisiana U.S. District Court Washington U.S. District Court West Virginia U.S. District Court Illinois Eastern U.S. District Court South Carolina Eastern U.S. District Court South Carolina Western U.S. District Court Alabama U.S. District Court U.S. District Court for the Canal Zone Georgia U.S. District Court Illinois U.S. District Court Indiana U.S. District Court Iowa U.S. District Court Michigan U.S. District Court Mississippi U.S. District Court Missouri U.S. District Court New Jersey Eastern U.S. District Court (East Jersey U.S. District Court) New Jersey Western U.S. District Court (West Jersey U.S. District Court) New York U.S. District Court North Carolina U.S. District Court Ohio U.S. District Court Pennsylvania U.S. District Court Tennessee U.S. District Court Texas U.S. District Court Virginia U.S. District Court Norfolk U.S. District Court Wisconsin U.S. District Court Kentucky U.S. Distrcrict Court New Jersey U.S. District Court California U.S. District Court Florida U.S. District Court Arkansas U.S. District Court District of Orleans U.S. District Court State Supreme Court State Appellate Court State Trial Court Eastern Circuit (of the United States) Middle Circuit (of the United States) Southern Circuit (of the United States) Alabama U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Alabama Arkansas U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Arkansas California U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of California Connecticut U.S. Circuit for the District of Connecticut Delaware U.S. Circuit for the District of Delaware Florida U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Florida Georgia U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Georgia Illinois U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Illinois Indiana U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Indiana Iowa U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Iowa Kansas U.S. Circuit for the District of Kansas Kentucky U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Kentucky Louisiana U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Louisiana Maine U.S. Circuit for the District of Maine Maryland U.S. Circuit for the District of Maryland Massachusetts U.S. Circuit for the District of Massachusetts Michigan U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Michigan Minnesota U.S. Circuit for the District of Minnesota Mississippi U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Mississippi Missouri U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Missouri Nevada U.S. Circuit for the District of Nevada New Hampshire U.S. Circuit for the District of New Hampshire New Jersey U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of New Jersey New York U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of New York North Carolina U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of North Carolina Ohio U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Ohio Oregon U.S. Circuit for the District of Oregon Pennsylvania U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Pennsylvania Rhode Island U.S. Circuit for the District of Rhode Island South Carolina U.S. Circuit for the District of South Carolina Tennessee U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Tennessee Texas U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Texas Vermont U.S. Circuit for the District of Vermont Virginia U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Virginia West Virginia U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of West Virginia Wisconsin U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Wisconsin Wyoming U.S. Circuit for the District of Wyoming Circuit Court of the District of Columbia Nebraska U.S. Circuit for the District of Nebraska Colorado U.S. Circuit for the District of Colorado Washington U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Washington Idaho U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Idaho Montana U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Montana Utah U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Utah South Dakota U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of South Dakota North Dakota U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of North Dakota Oklahoma U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Oklahoma Court of Private Land Claims