Sakellaridis v. Davey
Filing
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ORDER DENYING 21 Petitioner's Motion for Relief From Judgment and DECLINING to Issue Certificate of Appealability re 23 signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 1/19/2017. (Jessen, A)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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VASILIS SAKELLARIDIS,
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Petitioner,
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ORDER DENYING PETITIONER’S MOTION
FOR RELIEF FROM JUDGMENT AND
DECLINING TO ISSUE CERTIFICATE OF
APPEALABILITY
v.
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DAVE DAVEY,
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No. 1:15-cv-01154-DAD-EPG-HC
Respondent.
(Doc. Nos. 21, 23)
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Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus
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pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. On June 2, 2016, the assigned magistrate judge issued findings and
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recommendation recommending the petition be dismissed for failure to state a cognizable claim
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for federal habeas relief. (Doc. No. 16.) On June 22, 2016, petitioner lodged an amended
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petition, which attempted to cure the deficiency set forth in the magistrate judge’s findings and
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recommendation. (Doc. No. 17.) On September 15, 2016, finding that amendment would be
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futile based on petitioner’s failure to exhaust his claims by first presenting them to the highest
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state court, the court denied petitioner leave to amend the petition, dismissed the petition, and
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entered judgment. (Doc. Nos. 19, 20.) On October 17, 2016, petitioner filed a motion for relief
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from judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1), (3), and (6). (Doc. No. 21.)
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Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides:
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On motion and just terms, the court may relieve a party or its legal representative
from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons:
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(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect;
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(2) newly discovered evidence that, with reasonable diligence, could not
have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(b);
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(3) fraud (whether previously called intrinsic or extrinsic)
misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party;
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(4) the judgment is void;
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(5) the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged; it is based on
an earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated; or applying it
prospectively is no longer equitable; or
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(6) any other reason that justifies relief.
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Even if the court were to grant relief from judgment pursuant to Rule 60(b) and grant
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petitioner leave to amend, petitioner has failed to state a cognizable federal habeas claim in the
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amended petition. Petitioner contends that California Penal Code sections 2933.1 and 667.5(c)
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violate article IV, sections 8 and 9 of the California Constitution, a claim based upon the alleged
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violation of state law, obviously not cognizable in federal habeas. See Estelle v. McGuire, 502
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U.S. 62, 67–68 (1991) (noting “it is not the province of a federal habeas court to re-examine state-
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court determinations on state-law questions”). Petitioner argues that the California Department
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of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) applied § 2933.1 rendering him ineligible for certain
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worktime credits (a state-created liberty interest), and thereby violating due process. (Doc. No.
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17 at 5.) Even assuming that California Penal Code § 2933 creates a liberty interest in these
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credits protected by the Due Process Clause,1 petitioner does not allege the procedures by which
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he was deprived of that interest were constitutionally insufficient. See Swarthout v. Cooke, 562
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In 2010, the California legislature amended California Penal Code § 2933. The Ninth Circuit
has yet to determine whether § 2933, as amended, creates a liberty interest. Edwards v.
Swarthout, 597 Fed. App’x 914, 915–16 (9th Cir. 2014). The Ninth Circuit previously held that
the prior version of § 2933 “did not create a liberty interest in sentence-reducing worktime
credits; therefore, it could not serve as the basis of a due process claim.” Id. at 915 (citing
Toussaint v. McCarthy, 801 F.2d 1080, 1094–96 (9th Cir. 1986), abrogated on other grounds by
Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 485–87 (1995)).
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U.S. 216, 219 (2011) (“As for the Due Process Clause, standard analysis under that provision
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proceeds in two steps: We first ask whether there exists a liberty or property interest of which a
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person has been deprived, and if so we ask whether the procedures followed by the State were
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constitutionally sufficient.”). Rather, petitioner merely argues that the CDCR applied a state
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statute, which he alleges violates the California Constitution, that limited petitioner’s ability to
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earn credit. Of course, petitioner may not “transform a state-law issue into a federal one merely
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by asserting a violation of due process. We accept a state court’s interpretation of state law, and
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alleged errors in the application of state law are not cognizable in federal habeas corpus.”
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Langford v. Day, 110 F.3d 1380, 1389 (9th Cir. 1996) (citations omitted). See also Cooke, 562
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U.S. at 219 (“We have stated many times that federal habeas corpus relief does not lie for errors
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of state law.”) (quoting McGuire, 502 U.S. at 67). Since the amended petition would still fail to
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state a cognizable claim for federal habeas relief, petitioner’s motion for relief from judgment
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under Rule 60 must be denied.
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Petitioner also seeks a certificate of appealability on this issue. (Doc. No. 23.) A state
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prisoner seeking a writ of habeas corpus has no absolute entitlement to appeal a district court’s
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denial of relief, and an appeal is only allowed in certain circumstances. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537
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U.S. 322, 335–36 (2003); 28 U.S.C. § 2253. The Ninth Circuit held that a certificate of
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appealability “is required to appeal the denial of a Rule 60(b) motion for relief from judgment
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arising out of the denial of a section 2255 motion.” United States v. Winkles, 795 F.3d 1134,
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1142 (9th Cir. 2015). If a court denies a Rule 60(b) motion in a § 2255 proceeding, a certificate
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of appealability should only issue if “(1) jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the
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district court abused its discretion in denying the Rule 60(b) motion and (2) jurists of reason
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would find it debatable whether the underlying section 2255 motion states a valid claim of the
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denial of a constitutional right.” Winkles, 795 F.3d at 1143. “Given that section 2255 ‘was
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intended to mirror § 2254 in operative effect,’ and that the language used in sections
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2253(c)(1)(A) and (c)(1)(B) is functionally identical,” id. at 1141 (citations omitted), the court
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will apply the standard set forth in Winkles to determine whether a certificate of appealability
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should issue regarding the denial of petitioner’s Rule 60(b) motion for relief from judgment
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arising out of the dismissal of his § 2254 petition. Here, the court finds that jurists of reason
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would not find it debatable whether the court abused its discretion in denying the Rule 60(b)
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motion for relief from judgment and would not find it debatable whether the underlying amended
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petition states a valid claim of the denial of a constitutional right. Therefore, petitioner is not
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entitled to a certificate of appealability.
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Accordingly, for the reasons set forth above:
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1. Petitioner’s motion for relief from judgment (Doc. No. 21) is denied; and
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2. The court declines to issue a certificate of appealability.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
January 19, 2017
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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