Bergen McNeeley v. Arvon Arave

McNeeley appeals the district court’s dismissal of his habeas petition on two grounds: (1) the district court erred in finding that McNeeley failed to exhaust state remedies; and (2) the district court abused its discretion in failing to certify the exhaustion issue to the Idaho Supreme Court. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

McNeeley pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery and was sentenced by an Idaho district court to an indeterminate life term in prison. McNeeley appealed his conviction and life sentence to the Idaho Supreme Court, which assigned the case to the Idaho Court of Appeals under Idaho Appellate Rule (I.A.R.) 108. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence, and denied McNeeley’s petition for rehearing. McNeeley then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in federal district court. Finding that McNee-ley failed to petition the Idaho Supreme Court for review of the court of appeals’ decision, the district court dismissed the petition for failure to exhaust state remedies. Later, McNeeley filed a motion for certification to the Idaho Supreme Court, which was denied by the district court. McNeeley filed a timely…