Does the denial of an 'application' alone constitute a decision 'on the merits' that warrants AEDPA deference?

QUESTIONS PRESENTED I. Ohio has a two step procedure under Ohio App R 26 when one claims the ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. First, there must be a timely “application” to the Court of Appeals. If there is a “genuine issue” of counsel’s ineffectiveness, the case is then reopened by the Court and there is additional briefing “on the merits” and a decision by the Court. Does the denial of an “application” alone constitute a decision “on the merits” that warrants AEDPA deference ? IL. When there is testimony in favor of a complete defense that one was defending his mother from a physical attack yet counsel fails to request the standard jury instruction in support of that complete defense, is counsel ineffective under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the federal Constitution? 2