Tommy Fryman v. W Duncan
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Tommy Lee Fryman appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Fryman maintains that his state court sentence of 25 years to life for possession of 1.2 grams of cocaine base amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. He also argues that prospective application of California’s Proposition 36, a voter initiative mandating drug treatment instead of incarceration for nonviolent drug possession offenders, violates the Equal Protection Clause.
Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), federal habeas relief may only be granted if the state court’s decision “was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States” or “was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1)-(2). Under AEDPA, an unreasonable application of law is not merely clearly erroneous; it is “objectively unreasonable.” Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63, 75-76 , 123 S.Ct. 1166 , 155 L.Ed.2d 144 (2003).