Opinion ID: 1390030
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Petitioner Fails to Present a Cognizable Federal Question

Text: Petitioner's complaint involves the application of and interpretation of state law and does not implicate the federal Constitution. In Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67-68, 112 S.Ct. 475, 116 L.Ed.2d 385 (1991), the United States Supreme Court reiterated the well-established rule that federal habeas corpus relief does not lie for errors of state law, and that it is not the policy of the federal courts to re-examine state court determinations of state law questions. In conducting a federal habeas review, a federal court is limited to deciding whether a conviction violated the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States. Id. at 68, 112 S.Ct. 475 (citations omitted). Petitioner's claim fails to present a federal question cognizable on federal habeas review and is properly DENIED. See id. 67-68, 112 S.Ct. 475. B. Claim of Denial of Access to the Judicial Process is DENIED on the Merits This Court also defers to the state court's denial of the claim on the merits. (Sixth State Habeas Pet., (Claim VII) at 88-91; Answer, Ex. 13.) The California Supreme Court's denial of Petitioner's claim is not contrary to clearly established federal law, nor does it rest on an unreasonable determination of the facts. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). This Court therefore DENIES this claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). C. Petitioner Does Not Satisfy the Requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b) In order to be heard in a successive petition, Petitioner must demonstrate that the claim could not have been previously presented with the exercise of due diligence, and that the facts underlying his claim, if proven and viewed in light of the evidence as a whole, would be sufficient to establish by clear and convincing evidence that, but for the constitutional error, no reasonable juror would have found him guilty of the Ryen/ Hughes murders. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(2). Petitioner does not satisfy the second prong of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(2), because his complaint about being directed to file in the California Supreme Court is of no import to a juror's determination of his guilt.