Opinion
No. 06-16912.
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(a)(2).
Filed October 13, 2010.
Abe Williams, Jr., Mule Creek State Prison, lone, CA, for Petitioner-Appellant.
Mary J. Graves, Office of the California Attorney General, Sacramento, CA, Scott C. Mather, Esq., Office of the California Attorney General, San Francisco, CA, for Respondents-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Lawrence K. Karlton, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-03-00919-LKK.
Before: SILVERMAN, CALLAHAN, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
California state prisoner Abe Williams, Jr. appeals pro se from the district court's judgment denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253, and we affirm.
We expand the certificate of appealability, on our own motion, to include the issue of whether the 1999 decision of the California Board of Prison Terms ("Board") to deny parole violated due process. We decline to expand the certificate of appealability to include any other issues raised by Williams.
Williams contends that the Board's 1999 decision to deny him parole was not supported by "some evidence" and therefore violated his due process rights. The state court did not unreasonably conclude that some evidence supports the Board's decision. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d); see also Hayward v. Marshall, 603 F.3d 546, 562-63 (9th Cir. 2010) (en banc).
Williams also contends that the Board's decision was based on a "no parole" policy and that he was entitled to parole, even though he had been found unsuitable, based on various provisions of the California Penal Code. The California court's rejection of these claims was not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established Supreme Court law, and was not an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d); see also Irons v. Carey, 505 F.3d 846, 851 n. 3 (9th Cir. 2007) (suitability for parole determination under California Penal Code section 3041(b) must precede the setting of a parole release date under California Penal Code section 3041(a)).
We deny Williams' motion for removal of the stay of proceedings as moot.