Hawks

Hawks v. Kane

Good Law
450 F. App'x 565
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitAugust 5, 201106-17383California344 words

Opinion

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

California state prisoner Harold Harvey Hawks 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.

Hawks contends that the Board of Prison Terms’ 2003 decision to deny him parole was not supported by “some evidence” and therefore violated his due process rights. The only federal right at issue in the parole context is procedural, and the only proper inquiry is what process the inmate received, not whether the state court decided the case correctly. See Swarthout v. Cooke, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 859, 863 , 178 L.Ed.2d 732 (2011) (per curiam). Hawks raises no procedural challenges, so his claim is not cognizable.

Hawks contends that the parole regulation set forth in section 2402(c)(1) of the California Code of Regulations is unconstitutionally vague. The state court’s rejection of this claim was neither contrary to, nor an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law because the regulation is not “too vague to provide any guidance.” Arave v. Creech, 507 U.S. 463, 471 , 113 S.Ct. 1534 , 123 L.Ed.2d 188 (1993); see also Hess v. Bd. of Parole and…

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