Charles Piper v. D. Uribe, Jr., Warden
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Charles Piper appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus, brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 .
I
Piper contends that the state courts’ rejection of his federal due process claim— premised on the trial court’s allowance of an amendment to add a count that had been dismissed at a preliminary hearing— was contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d). An independent review of the record reveals a reasonable justification for the state courts’ decision. See Himes v. Thompson, 336 F.3d 848, 853 (9th Cir.2003). The preliminary hearing transcript, reviewed by the trial judge, suggests that the dismissed count was “shown by the evidence taken at the preliminary examination,” Cal.Penal Code § 1009; see also People v. Graff, 170 Cal.App.4th 345 , 87 Cal.Rptr.3d 827 , 838 (2009). Thus, even if we assume that § 1009 establishes a liberty interest protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, the state courts might reasonably have concluded that Piper was not deprived of such right in an “arbitrary” manner. See Hicks v. Oklahoma, 447 U.S. 343, 346 , 100 S.Ct. 2227 , 65 L.Ed.2d 175 (1980).