Franklin Larance Forch v. Daniel Paramo et al

Filing 47

ORDER ACCEPTING FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE by Judge Andrew J. Guilford. The Court accepts and adopts the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation. It is Ordered that Judgment be entered denying and dismissing the Petition with prejudice. (Attachments: # 1 R&R) (sp)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 12 13 14 15 FRANKLIN LARANCE FORCH, ) NO. CV 12-8554-AG(E) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF ) DANIEL PARAMO, ET AL., ) UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE ) Respondents. ) ______________________________) 16 17 18 This Report and Recommendation is submitted to the Honorable 19 Andrew J. Guilford, United States District Judge, pursuant to 28 20 U.S.C. section 636 and General Order 05-07 of the United States 21 District Court for the Central District of California. 22 23 PROCEEDINGS 24 25 On September 26, 2012, Petitioner, a state prisoner, filed a 26 “Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus” in the United States District 27 Court for the Southern District of California. 28 the United States District Court for the Southern District of On October 1, 2012, 1 California transferred the action to this Court. 2 3 The Petition originally alleged four “Grounds.” On February 1, 4 2013, Respondent filed an Answer, contending inter alia that Grounds 5 One, Three and Four of the Petition were unexhausted. 6 filed a “Motion for Traverse” on February 27, 2013. Petitioner 7 8 On July 31, 2013, the Court issued an “Order Re Exhaustion 9 Issues,” ruling that certain of Petitioner’s claims were unexhausted 10 and ordering Petitioner to file: 11 intent to delete Petitioner’s unexhausted claims; (2) a document 12 requesting dismissal of this entire proceeding without prejudice; or 13 (3) a motion for a stay pursuant to Rhines v. Weber, 544 U.S. 269, 14 273-74 (1995) (“Rhines”) and/or Kelly v. Small, 315 F.3d 1063 (9th 15 Cir.), cert. denied, 548 U.S. 1042 (2003), overruled on other grounds, 16 Robbins v. Carey, 481 F.3d 1143 (9th Cir. 2007) (“Kelly”). (1) a document stating Petitioner’s 17 18 On August 30, 2013, Petitioner filed a “Motion for a Stay of 19 Ruling of Habeas Corpus.” 20 “Order Denying Motion for Stay,” ruling that Petitioner was not 21 entitled to a stay under either Rhines or Kelly. 22 Petitioner to dismiss the Petition in its entirety or to dismiss all 23 of the unexhausted claims (“Order Denying Motion for Stay” at 6-8). 24 Petitioner failed to comply with this Order within the allotted time. On September 25, 2013, the Court issued an The Court ordered 25 26 On November 19, 2013, the Magistrate Judge filed a “Report and 27 Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge” (“the prior 28 report”). The prior report recommended that the Petition be denied 2 1 and dismissed without prejudice for failure to comply with the Court’s 2 September 25, 2013 Order. 3 4 On December 4, 2013, Petitioner filed a “Written Statement of 5 Objection to Report and Recommendation” (“the prior objection”). 6 Court construed the prior objection as Petitioner’s belated notice of 7 voluntary dismissal of Petitioner’s unexhausted claims. 8 Order filed December 9, 2013. 9 withdrawn, and the Court ordered supplemental briefing on Ground Two 10 The See Minute The prior report therefore was of the Petition, Petitioner’s only remaining Ground (id.).1 11 12 Respondent filed a Supplemental Answer on January 7, 2014. 13 Petitioner filed an “Answer Supplemental to Habeus [sic] Corpus” on 14 January 22, 2014. 15 16 BACKGROUND 17 18 Pursuant to a plea of no contest, Petitioner was convicted of 19 second degree murder (Lodged Documents 1 and 2). 20 denied Petitioner’s request for a certificate of probable cause 21 (Lodged Document 3 at n.1). 22 /// 23 /// The Superior Court Petitioner’s appellate counsel filed a 24 1 25 26 27 28 Because the pages of the Petition containing Petitioner’s grounds for relief appear to be out of order, the numbering of the grounds is somewhat confusing. See “Order re Exhaustion of Issues,” filed July 31, 2013, at n.2. Petitioner’s only remaining Ground is the Ground referenced in Respondent’s Answer as “Ground Two,” which is the Ground set forth on page “8 of 140" of the Petition as scanned into ECF. 3 1 Wende2 brief (id. at 4; Lodged Document 9). 2 letters with the California Court of Appeal, and received several 3 extensions of time within which to file a supplemental brief (Lodged 4 Document 3 at 5). 5 of Appeal denied Petitioner’s requests for a further extension, the 6 Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction in a reasoned decision (id.). 7 The Court of Appeal stated, inter alia: 8 record and considered the contents of defendant’s letters, we are 9 satisfied that defendant’s appellate counsel has fully complied with Petitioner filed several After these extensions expired, and after the Court “Having examined the entire 10 his responsibilities and that no arguable issues exist” (id. at 5). 11 Petitioner did not file a petition for review in the California 12 Supreme Court.3 13 14 Petitioner subsequently filed several habeas corpus petitions in 15 the California Supreme Court. 16 July 31, 2013, at 2-3. 17 these petitions. 18 /// See “Order re Exhaustion Issues,” filed The California Supreme Court summarily denied See id. 19 20 21 22 2 See People v. Wende, 25 Cal. 3d 436, 158 Cal. Rptr. 839, 600 P.2d 1071 (1979) (appellate counsel may file a brief raising no specific issues and calling upon the court to review the entire record to determine for itself whether there exist any arguable appellate issues). 23 3 24 25 26 27 28 The Court takes judicial notice of the California Supreme Court’s docket, available on the California courts’ website at www.courts.ca.gov. See Porter v. Ollison, 620 F.3d 952, 954-55 n.1 (9th Cir. 2010) (taking judicial notice of state court dockets). The docket shows no person named Franklin Forch ever filed a petition for review in that court. Although Petitioner appears to allege he filed a petition for review, he references only his two California Supreme Court habeas petitions (see Petition, p. 2). 4 1 In Ground Two, Petitioner’s only remaining Ground, Petitioner 2 contends: (1) appellate counsel allegedly rendered ineffective 3 assistance by failing to show “just cause” for a “new trial” and by 4 failing to prove Petitioner’s supposed innocence; and (2) the actions 5 of prison staff in allegedly harassing and intimidating Petitioner, 6 confining Petitioner in administrative segregation and denying 7 Petitioner library access, assertedly hindered Petitioner from filing 8 a pro se brief in the California Court of Appeal. 9 10 STANDARD OF REVIEW 11 12 Under the “Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996" 13 (“AEDPA”), a federal court may not grant an application for writ of 14 habeas corpus on behalf of a person in state custody with respect to 15 any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in state court 16 proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim: 17 decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application 18 of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme 19 Court of the United States”; or (2) “resulted in a decision that was 20 based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the 21 evidence presented in the State court proceeding.” 22 2254(d); Woodford v. Visciotti, 537 U.S. 19, 24-26 (2002); Early v. 23 Packer, 537 U.S. 3, 8 (2002); Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 405-09 24 (2000). (1) “resulted in a 28 U.S.C. § 25 26 “Clearly established Federal law” refers to the governing legal 27 principle or principles set forth by the Supreme Court at the time the 28 state court renders its decision on the merits. 5 Greene v. Fisher, 132 1 S. Ct. 38, 44 (2011); Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63, 71-72 (2003). 2 A state court’s decision is “contrary to” clearly established Federal 3 law if: 4 Court law; or (2) it “confronts a set of facts . . . materially 5 indistinguishable” from a decision of the Supreme Court but reaches a 6 different result. 7 omitted); Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. at 405-06. (1) it applies a rule that contradicts governing Supreme See Early v. Packer, 537 U.S. at 8 (citation 8 9 Under the “unreasonable application prong” of section 2254(d)(1), 10 a federal court may grant habeas relief “based on the application of a 11 governing legal principle to a set of facts different from those of 12 the case in which the principle was announced.” 13 538 U.S. at 76 (citation omitted); see also Woodford v. Visciotti, 537 14 U.S. at 24-26 (state court decision “involves an unreasonable 15 application” of clearly established federal law if it identifies the 16 correct governing Supreme Court law but unreasonably applies the law 17 to the facts). 18 application of [Supreme Court] precedent if the state court either 19 unreasonably extends a legal principle from [Supreme Court] precedent 20 to a new context where it should not apply, or unreasonably refuses to 21 extend that principle to a new context where it should apply.” 22 Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. at 407 (citation omitted). Lockyer v. Andrade, A state court’s decision “involves an unreasonable 23 24 “In order for a federal court to find a state court’s application 25 of [Supreme Court] precedent ‘unreasonable,’ the state court’s 26 decision must have been more than incorrect or erroneous.” 27 Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 520 (2003) (citation omitted). 28 court’s application must have been ‘objectively unreasonable.’” 6 Wiggins v. “The state Id. 1 at 520-21 (citation omitted); see also Waddington v. Sarausad, 555 2 U.S. 179, 190 (2009); Davis v. Woodford, 384 F.3d 628, 637-38 (9th 3 Cir. 2004), cert. dism’d, 545 U.S. 1165 (2005). 4 habeas court must determine what arguments or theories supported, 5 . . . or could have supported, the state court’s decision; and then it 6 must ask whether it is possible fairminded jurists could disagree that 7 those arguments or theories are inconsistent with the holding in a 8 prior decision of this Court.” 9 786 (2011). “Under § 2254(d), a Harrington v. Richter, 131 S. Ct. 770, This is “the only question that matters under § 10 2254(d)(1).” 11 relief may not issue unless “there is no possibility fairminded 12 jurists could disagree that the state court’s decision conflicts with 13 [the United States Supreme Court’s] precedents.” 14 condition for obtaining habeas corpus from a federal court, a state 15 prisoner must show that the state court’s ruling on the claim being 16 presented in federal court was so lacking in justification that there 17 was an error well understood and comprehended in existing law beyond 18 any possibility for fairminded disagreement.”). Id. (citation and internal quotations omitted). Habeas Id. at 786-87 (“As a 19 20 In applying these standards, the Court looks to the last reasoned 21 state court decision. 22 (9th Cir. 2008). 23 state court summarily denies a claim, “[a] habeas court must determine 24 what arguments or theories . . . could have supported the state 25 court’s decision; and then it must ask whether it is possible 26 fairminded jurists could disagree that those arguments or theories are 27 inconsistent with the holding in a prior decision of this Court.” 28 Cullen v. Pinholster, 131 S. Ct. 1388, 1403 (2011) (citation, See Delgadillo v. Woodford, 527 F.3d 919, 925 Where no reasoned decision exists, as where the 7 1 quotations and brackets omitted). 2 3 Additionally, federal habeas corpus relief may be granted “only 4 on the ground that [Petitioner] is in custody in violation of the 5 Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 6 2254(a). 7 of whether the petition satisfies section 2254(a) prior to, or in lieu 8 of, applying the standard of review set forth in section 2254(d). 9 Frantz v. Hazey, 533 F.3d 724, 736-37 (9th Cir. 2008) (en banc). 28 U.S.C. § In conducting habeas review, a court may determine the issue 10 11 DISCUSSION 12 13 14 For the reasons discussed below, the Petition should be denied and dismissed with prejudice.4 15 16 I. Alleged Ineffective Assistance of Appellate Counsel 17 18 To establish ineffective assistance of counsel, Petitioner must 19 prove: 20 of reasonableness; and (2) there is a reasonable probability that, but 21 for counsel’s errors, the result of the proceeding would have been 22 different. (1) counsel’s representation fell below an objective standard Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 688, 694, 697 23 4 24 25 26 27 28 The Court assumes arguendo the timeliness of Petitioner’s claims. See Van Buskirk v. Baldwin, 255 F.3d 974, 976 (9th Cir.), amended and superseded on other grounds, 265 F.3d 1080 (9th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 950 (2002) (declining to address statute of limitations issue where habeas petition lacked merit); see also Trussel v. Bowersox, 447 F.3d 588, 590 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1034 (2006) (addressing merits rather than limitations issue in the interest of judicial economy). 8 1 (1984) (“Strickland”). 2 “is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” 3 Id. at 694. 4 counsel’s performance was reasonable or the claimed error was not 5 prejudicial. 6 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 726 (2013) (“[f]ailure to meet 7 either [Strickland] prong is fatal to a claim”); Rios v. Rocha, 299 8 F.3d 796, 805 (9th Cir. 2002) (“Failure to satisfy either prong of the 9 Strickland test obviates the need to consider the other.”) (citation 10 A reasonable probability of a different result The court may reject the claim upon finding either that Id. at 697; see Gentry v. Sinclair, 705 F.3d 884, 889 omitted). 11 12 Review of counsel’s performance is “highly deferential” and there 13 is a “strong presumption” that counsel rendered adequate assistance 14 and exercised reasonable professional judgment. 15 384 F.3d 567, 610 (9th Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 546 U.S. 934 (2005) 16 (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689). 17 reasonableness of counsel’s conduct “on the facts of the particular 18 case, viewed as of the time of counsel’s conduct.” 19 U.S. at 690. 20 nor apply the fabled twenty-twenty vision of hindsight. . . .” 21 Matylinsky v. Budge, 577 F.3d 1083, 1091 (9th Cir. 2009), cert. 22 denied, 558 U.S. 1154 (2010) (citation and quotations omitted); see 23 Yarborough v. Gentry, 540 U.S. 1, 8 (2003) (“The Sixth Amendment 24 guarantees reasonable competence, not perfect advocacy judged with the 25 benefit of hindsight.”) (citations omitted). 26 burden to show that “counsel made errors so serious that counsel was 27 not functioning as the counsel guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth 28 Amendment.” Williams v. Woodford, The court must judge the Strickland, 466 The court may “neither second-guess counsel’s decisions, Petitioner bears the Harrington v. Richter, 131 S. Ct. at 787 (citation and 9 1 internal quotations omitted); see Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689. 2 3 A state court’s decision rejecting a Strickland claim is entitled 4 to “a deference and latitude that are not in operation when the case 5 involves review under the Strickland standard itself.” 6 Richter, 131 S. Ct. at 785. 7 not whether counsel’s actions were reasonable. 8 whether there is any reasonable argument that counsel satisfied 9 Strickland’s deferential standard.” Harrington v. “When § 2254(d) applies, the question is The question is Id. at 788. 10 11 “In assessing prejudice under Strickland, the question is not 12 whether a court can be certain counsel’s performance had no effect on 13 the outcome. . . .” 14 issue is whether, in the absence of counsel’s alleged error, it is 15 “‘reasonably likely’” that the result would have been different. 16 at 792 (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 696). 17 different result must be substantial, not just conceivable.” Id. at 791-92 (citations omitted). Rather, the Id. “The likelihood of a Id. 18 19 The standards applicable to claims of ineffective assistance of 20 trial counsel apply equally to claims of ineffective assistance of 21 appellate counsel. 22 (“Smith”); Alford v. Rolfs, 867 F.2d 1216, 1220 (9th Cir. 1989). 23 Under Strickland, appellate counsel has no constitutional obligation 24 to raise all nonfrivolous issues on appeal. 25 F.3d 1430, 1435 (9th Cir. 1997). Smith v. Robbins, 528 U.S. 259, 285-86 (2000) Pollard v. White, 119 26 27 28 To succeed on his claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel in the present case, Petitioner must show: 10 (1) counsel's 1 decision to file a Wende brief was objectively unreasonable; and 2 (2) but for counsel's failure to discover appellate issues and to file 3 a brief discussing the merits of those issues, Petitioner would have 4 prevailed on appeal. 5 466 U.S. at 694. 6 not shown that appellate counsel "unreasonably failed to discover 7 nonfrivolous issues." 8 that appellate counsel filed a Wende brief after counsel reviewed the 9 record and found no arguable issues on appeal. Smith, 528 U.S. at 285-86; see also Strickland, Petitioner has made neither showing. Smith, 528 U.S. at 285-86. Petitioner has The record shows The Court of Appeal 10 also reviewed the entire record and reasonably concluded that 11 “appellate counsel has fully complied with his responsibilities and 12 . . . no arguable issues exist.” 13 appellate counsel did not act unreasonably by filing a Wende brief. 14 See Pollard v. White, 119 F.3d at 1437 (appellate counsel not 15 deficient for failing to present claims with no likelihood of 16 success). 17 counsel’s failure to raise any specific issues on appeal. 18 528 U.S. at 285-86 (to prevail, a petitioner "must show a reasonable 19 probability that, but for his counsel's unreasonable failure to file a 20 merits brief, he would have prevailed on his appeal"). 21 extremely conclusory allegations that counsel should have shown “just 22 cause” for a “new trial” and should have proven Petitioner’s supposed 23 innocence cannot support habeas relief. 24 199, 205 (9th Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1143 (1996) (“It is 25 well settled that conclusory allegations which are not supported by a 26 statement of specific facts do not warrant habeas relief") citations 27 and quotations omitted). 28 /// Because no arguable issues existed, For the same reason, Petitioner was not prejudiced by 11 See Smith, Petitioner's See Jones v. Gomez, 66 F.3d 1 Furthermore, several legal obstacles would have discouraged any 2 reasonable appellate counsel from attempting to prove Petitioner’s 3 supposed innocence. 4 obstacle. 5 court that he is in fact guilty of the offense with which he is 6 charged, he may not thereafter raise independent claims relating to 7 the deprivation of constitutional rights that occurred prior to the 8 entry of the guilty plea.” 9 (1973); see also United States v. Cazares, 121 F.3d 1241, 1246-48 (9th Petitioner’s plea presented the first such “When a criminal defendant has solemnly admitted in open Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 267 10 Cir. 1997) (guilty plea admits all facts essential to the validity of 11 the conviction). 12 pleas as well as to guilty pleas. 13 3930348, at *10 n.7 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 3, 2012), adopted, 2012 WL 3930345 14 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 6, 2012) (“Under California law, the legal effect of 15 Petitioner’s no contest plea was the same as the effect accorded to a 16 plea of guilty”) (citations omitted). 17 amply refutes his conclusory claim of actual innocence. 18 v. Mancinas-Flores, 588 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (“a guilty plea 19 is an admission of all the elements of a formal criminal charge”) 20 (citation omitted); United States v. Benboe, 157 F.3d 1181, 1184 (9th 21 Cir. 1998) (“Any attempt to contradict the factual basis of a valid 22 plea must fail”) (citation and internal quotations omitted); see also 23 United States v. Dungee, 228 Fed. App’x 298, 303 (4th Cir. 2007) (“A 24 knowing and voluntary guilty plea ‘conclusively establishes the 25 elements of the offense and the material facts necessary to support 26 the conviction,’ and ‘constitutes a waiver of all nonjurisdictional 27 defects,’ such as claims of actual innocence.”) (citations omitted); 28 Hernandez v. Mendoza-Powers, 2005 WL 2089807, at *5 (E.D. Cal. In California, this principle applies to no contest Rosenfeld v. Warden, 2012 WL 12 Accordingly, Petitioner’s plea United States 1 Aug. 29, 2005) (“Petitioner’s claim of actual innocence is a pre-plea 2 matter which is barred by Tollet[t]”); People v. McNabb, 228 Cal. App. 3 3d 462, 470-71, 279 Cal. Rptr. 11, 16 (1991) (“the issue of guilt or 4 innocence is waived by a guilty plea”); see also In re Chavez, 30 Cal. 5 4th 643, 649, 134 Cal. Rptr. 2d 54, 68 P.2d 347 (2003) (in California, 6 “when a defendant pleads guilty or no contest and is convicted without 7 a trial, only limited issues are cognizable on appeal”). 8 9 Second, the denial of the certificate of probable cause prevented 10 Petitioner’s appellate counsel from raising any issues Petitioner now 11 suggests, including Petitioner’s supposed innocence. 12 law, the denial of a certificate of probable cause limits the scope of 13 any direct appeal to the pre-plea denial of a motion to suppress 14 evidence or grounds arising post-plea that do not challenge the plea’s 15 validity. 16 Petitioner has not suggested any issues that could have been appealed 17 in the absence of a certificate of probable cause. Under California See Cal. Penal Code § 1237.5; Cal. R. Ct. 8.304(b). 18 19 A third separate obstacle also would have prevented Petitioner’s 20 counsel from attempting to prove Petitioner’s “innocence” on direct 21 appeal. 22 outside the appellate record. 23 confined in its review to the proceedings that took place in the court 24 below and are brought up for review in a properly prepared record on 25 appeal.” 26 see Brosterhous v. State Bar, 12 Cal. 4th 315, 325, 48 Cal. Rptr. 2d 27 87, 93, 906 P.2d 1242, 1248 (1995). 28 appellate record regarding Petitioner’s guilt or innocence consisted Any such attempt would have required recourse to matters The appellate court “is ordinarily 9 Witkin, Cal. Proc., Appeal § 334 (5th ed. 2008); 13 The only evidence in the 1 of Petitioner’s no contest plea and the preliminary hearing 2 transcript, both of which reflected Petitioner’s guilt.5 3 4 In sum, Petitioner has failed to demonstrate that any action or 5 inaction by appellate counsel was unreasonable or prejudicial. 6 Moormann v. Ryan, 628 F.3d 1102, 1109 (9th Cir. 2010), cert. denied, 7 132 S. Ct. 346 (2011) (counsel is not required to raise a meritless 8 issue on appeal); Wildman v. Johnson, 261 F.3d 832, 840 (9th Cir. 9 2001) (appellate counsel’s failure to raise an issue on direct appeal See 10 cannot constitute ineffective assistance when “the appeal would not 11 have provided grounds for reversal.”) (citation omitted). 12 13 II. 14 Alleged Interference with Petitioner’s Filing of a Pro Se Supplemental Brief on Appeal 15 16 Federal habeas corpus relief may be granted “only on the ground 17 that [Petitioner] is in custody in violation of the Constitution or 18 laws or treaties of the United States.” 19 errors in the application of state law are not cognizable on federal 20 habeas review. 21 (“it is not the province of a federal habeas corpus court to reexamine 22 state-court determinations on state-law questions”); accord Pulley v. 23 Harris, 465 U.S. 37, 41 (1984). 24 /// 25 /// 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). Mere Id.; Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67-68 (1991) 26 27 28 5 See Lodged Document 1 (plea transcript) and Lodged Document 8 (Clerk’s Transcript containing the preliminary hearing transcript at pages 3 through 37). 14 1 Petitioner’s complaints regarding the treatment he assertedly 2 received in prison during his direct appeal, including the alleged 3 interference with his ability to file a pro se supplemental brief, 4 fail to raise any issue of federal law cognizable on habeas corpus. 5 The Wende procedures followed by the California Court of Appeal 6 satisfied federal constitutional requirements. 7 266. 8 the course of proceedings on appeal. 9 528 U.S. 152 (2000) (criminal defendant has no constitutional right to See Smith, 528 U.S. at A criminal defendant has no constitutional entitlement to direct See Martinez v. Court of Appeal, 10 represent himself or herself on appeal); Jones v. Barnes, 463 U.S. 11 745, 754 (1983) (criminal defendant has no constitutional right to 12 have appellate counsel raise every non-frivolous issue that the 13 defendant seeks to raise); Smith v. Cox, 435 F.2d 453, 458-59 (4th 14 Cir. 1970), vacated on other grounds, 404 U.S. 53 (1971) (“however 15 desirable” it may be that appellate counsel “consult with his client 16 at least once to ascertain his client’s desires with regard to the 17 alleged trial errors which the appellant wishes to press,” it is not 18 constitutionally required). 19 permits the filing of a pro se supplemental brief when counsel has 20 filed a Wende brief, Petitioner had no federal constitutional right to 21 file such a brief. 22 Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 958 (2001); Nelson v. Lackner, 2013 23 WL 6178544, at *12-13 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 22, 2013). Although California state law generally See McMeans v. Brigano, 228 F.3d 674, 684 (6th 24 25 To the extent the state post-conviction review procedures 26 violated any non-constitutional standards, such violation would not be 27 cognizable in habeas corpus. 28 available to redress alleged procedural errors in state post- “[F]ederal habeas relief is not 15 1 conviction proceedings.” Ortiz v. Stewart, 149 F.3d 923, 939 (9th 2 Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1123 (1999); Franzen v. Brinkman, 3 877 F.2d 26, 26 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1012 (1989) (“a 4 petition alleging errors in the state post-conviction review process 5 is not addressable through habeas corpus proceedings”). 6 applies to alleged procedural errors in the state appeals process. 7 See Madrid v. Marshall, 1995 WL 91329, *2 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 30, 1995), 8 aff’d, 99 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 1996) (unpublished table opinion), cert. 9 denied, 519 U.S. 1130 (1997) (“Petitioner alleges that the California This rule 10 Court of Appeal erred in striking his supplemental brief contesting 11 issues his appellate counsel would not raise. 12 assertions of error in the state post-conviction review process do not 13 represent an attack on his detention, they are not addressable through 14 habeas corpus proceedings”) (citing Franzen v. Brinkman). Because Petitioner’s 15 16 RECOMMENDATION 17 18 For all of the foregoing reasons, IT IS RECOMMENDED that the 19 Court issue an Order: 20 Recommendation; and (2) directing that Judgment be entered denying and 21 dismissing the Petition with prejudice. (1) accepting and adopting this Report and 22 23 24 25 DATED: January 31, 2014. _____________/S/_______________ CHARLES F. EICK UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 26 27 28 16 1 2 NOTICE Reports and Recommendations are not appealable to the Court of 3 Appeals, but may be subject to the right of any party to file 4 objections as provided in the Local Rules Governing the Duties of 5 Magistrate Judges and review by the District Judge whose initials 6 appear in the docket number. 7 Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure should be filed until entry of 8 the judgment of the District Court. No notice of appeal pursuant to the 9 If the District Judge enters judgment adverse to Petitioner, the 10 District Judge will, at the same time, issue or deny a certificate of 11 appealability. 12 and Recommendation, the parties may file written arguments regarding 13 whether a certificate of appealability should issue. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Within twenty (20) days of the filing of this Report

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