the 9th us circuit court of appeals confirmed that the washington supreme court 's resolution of elmore 's constitutional claims was not unreasonable .
ohnstad , a middle school student , was the daughter of elmore 's live-in girlfriend , the seattle times reported .
clark elmore 's conviction for killing and raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter in 1995 .
elmore , who was convicted of killing kristy ohnstad in bellingham after he said she threatened to reveal he had molested her as a child , received the federal court 's ruling on wednesday .
clark elmore 's claim his constitutional rights were violated at trial .