Terry Lee Parker v. D. Burton

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: October 20, 2020
• Docket: 5:20-cv-01982
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ? CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 TERRY LEE PARKER, Case No. 5:20-cv-01982-JGB-JC Petitioner, 13 ORDER DISMISSING PETITION V. FOR WRIT OF HABEAS 14 CORPUS AND ACTION 15 D. BURTON, WITHOUT PREJUDICE

16 Respondent. VT 18 On September 21, 2020, petitioner Terry Lee Parker, who is proceeding pro 19 | filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 by a Person 0 in State Custody (“Petition”) with exhibits. Petitioner — who was convicted of 31 || arson and sentenced to eight years in prison in San Bernardino County Superior 9 Court Case No. 16-CR-001692 and is projected to be released on December 19, 73 2021 — asserts a single ground for relief in which he requests that this Court modify his sentence because he has been rehabilitated. (Petition at 1-2, 6). He acknowledges that he committed the foregoing offense and does not claim that any 6 legal error occurred, but nonetheless requests that this Court modify his state 7 sentence and release him on conditions that would enable him to complete his 28 rehabilitation. (Petition at 6, 6-1).

1 Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States 2 || District Courts requires summary dismissal of Section 2254 petitions “[i]f it plainly 3 || appears from the petition and any attached exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled 4 || to relief in the district court.” Rule 4, 28 U.S.C. foll. § 2254. Here, dismissal 5 || under Rule 4 is required because petitioner’s claim is not cognizable in federal 6 || habeas review. 7 “In conducting habeas review, a federal court is limited to deciding whether 8 || a conviction violated the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.” 9 || Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67-68 (1991) (internal citations omitted); see also 10 | Swarthout v. Cooke, 562 U.S. 216, 219 (2011) (per curiam) (“We have stated 11 || many times that ‘federal habeas corpus relief does not lie for errors of state law.’”) 12 | (citation omitted). Generally, a challenge to a state court’s application of state 13 || sentencing laws does not give rise to a federal question cognizable on federal 14 || habeas review. See Lewis v. Jeffers, 497 U.S. 764, 780 (1990); see also Miller v. 15 | Vasquez, 868 F.2d 1116, 1118-19 (9th Cir. 1989) (claim that offense did not 16 || constitute a “serious felony” held not to be cognizable on federal habeas review, 17 || because it “is a question of state sentencing law”); Sturm v. California Youth 18 | Authority, 395 F.2d 446, 448 (9th Cir. 1967) (“a state court’s interpretation of its 19 || [sentencing] statute does not raise a federal question’) (citation omitted). 20 To state a cognizable federal habeas claim based on a claimed state 21 || sentencing error, a petitioner must show both that there was state sentencing error 22 || and that the error was “so arbitrary or capricious as to constitute an independent 23 || due process” violation. Richmond v. Lewis, 506 U.S. 40, 50 (1992); see also 24 || Christian v. Rhode, 41 F.3d 461, 469 (9th Cir. 1994) (“Absent a showing of 25 || fundamental unfairness, a state court’s misapplication of its own sentencing laws 26 || does not justify federal habeas relief.”’). 27 Here, petitioner does not allege even a state law error, let alone allege or 28 || demonstrate any fundamental unfairness. Nor can petitioner’s allegations in the

1 | Petition and exhibits, construed liberally, be read to state any colorable federal 2 || constitutional claim or to have any potential basis to do so by amendment. 3 || Accordingly, it plainly appears from the Petition and the attached exhibits that the 4 || petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court. Rule 4 requires that the 5 || Petition be dismissed. 6 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Petition and this action are 7 || dismissed. 8 IT IS SO ORDERED. 9 10 | DATED: October 20, 2020 Sel D 13 UNITED BATES DISTRICT JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28