Opinion ID: 1390030
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 25

Heading: Denial of Access to the Judicial Process

Text: Petitioner claims that his rights under the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were violated when the San Diego County Superior Court directed him to file his petition for writ of habeas corpus and related motions directly in the California Supreme Court. (Pet. at 53-54.) Petitioner's claim is properly DENIED as failing to present a cognizable federal question for this Court's consideration. Even if the claims were a cognizable federal question, he does not satisfy the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b). Even assuming arguendo that Petitioner met the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b), this Court also DENIES Petitioner's claim on the merits with deference to the California Supreme Court's denial of Petitioner's claim because that decision is not contrary to clearly established federal law nor based on an unreasonable determination of the facts within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).
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.