Walters v. Lizzaraga

Filing 8

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 06/13/16 ordering petitioner's application for writ of habeas corpus is summarily dismissed. The clerk is directed to close the case. The court declines to issue a certificate of appealability. CASE CLOSED. (Plummer, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LOUIE WALTERS,

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No. 2:16-cv-610-EFB P

Petitioner,
v.

ORDER

J. LIZZARAGA, Warden,

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Respondent.

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Petitioner is a state prisoner without counsel seeking a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to

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28 U.S.C. § 2254.1 He has paid the filing fee. Petitioner alleges that he is eligible for

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resentencing under California Penal Code section 1170.126, which amended California’s Three

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Strikes Law in 2012. ECF No. 1 at 8-9.2 He argues that the state courts deprived him of due

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process when they determined he was ineligible for resentencing on his 1996 conviction for

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possession of a firearm by a felon. Id. at 7.

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Under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases, the court is required to conduct
a preliminary review of all petitions for writ of habeas corpus filed by state prisoners. The court

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This proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(b)(1) and is before the undersigned pursuant to petitioner’s consent. See 28 U.S.C. § 636;
see also E.D. Cal. Local Rules, Appx. A, at (k)(4).
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For ease of reference, all references to page numbers in the petition are to those assigned
via the court’s electronic filing system.

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must summarily dismiss a petition if it “plainly appears . . . that the petitioner is not entitled to

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relief . . . .” The court has conducted the review required under Rule 4 and concludes that

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summary dismissal of the petition is required.

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“[A] federal court is limited to deciding whether a conviction violated the Constitution,

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laws, or treaties of the United States.” Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67-68 (1991). Habeas

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corpus relief is unavailable for alleged errors in the interpretation or application of state

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sentencing laws by either a state trial court or appellate court. “State courts are the ultimate

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expositors of state law,” and a federal habeas court is bound by the state’s construction except

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when it appears that its interpretation is an obvious subterfuge to evade the consideration of a

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federal issue. Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684, 691 (1975). So long as a state sentence “is not

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based on any proscribed federal grounds such as being cruel and unusual, racially or ethnically

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motivated, or enhanced by indigency, the penalties for violation of state statutes are matters of

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state concern.” Makal v. State of Arizona, 544 F.2d 1030, 1035 (9th Cir. 1976). See also Bueno

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v. Hallahan, 988 F.2d 86, 88 (9th Cir. 1993) (per curiam) (“[S]entence enhancement on the basis

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of prior convictions . . . does not violate the Constitution.”).

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In this case, petitioner’s claim lies outside this court’s jurisdiction. See Langford v. Day,

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110 F.3d 1380, 1389 (9th Cir. 1996) (a habeas petitioner may not “transform a state-law issue into

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a federal one merely by asserting a violation of due process.”). Although petitioner references

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“due process,” the substantive issue raised is whether the state courts properly determined under

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California law that petitioner is ineligible for resentencing under § 1170.126. Federal habeas

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corpus relief is unavailable to correct violations of state law. Swarthout v. Cooke, 562 U.S. 216,

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219 (2011). Accordingly, the petition for a writ of habeas corpus must be summarily dismissed.

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See Garateix v. Rackley, No. SACV 15-0795-FMO (JEM), 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70034 (C.D.

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Cal. May 28, 2015) (summarily dismissing petition based on state court’s denial of resentencing

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as not cognizable in federal habeas review).

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In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Petitioner’s application for writ of habeas corpus is summarily dismissed.

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2. The Clerk is directed to close the case.

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3. The court declines to issue a certificate of appealability.

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DATED: June 13, 2016.

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