Jerry Don Foster v. Washington State Board of Prison Terms and Parole
Opinion
Opinion
Noonan, J.
Jerry Don Foster brought a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 seeking relief from the length of his prison term in the State of Washington. The district court denied his petition as well as denying his request for appointed counsel. Foster appeals. We affirm the district court. Because Foster’s petition is one of almost one hundred similar petitions raising the same issue as to the State of Washington’s Sentencing Reform Act of 1981, we publish our disposition.
BACKGROUND
On July 28,1982 Foster was convicted by the State of Washington of kidnapping and of robbery in the second degree. He is currently incarcerated at the Pine Lodge Correction Center of the State of Washington. The focus of his petition for habeas corpus are two changes made in the criminal law of the state.
In 1981, the state enacted a Sentencing Reform Act (SRA), effective July 1, 1984. Wash.Rev.Code § 9.94A.010 et seq. The SRA applies to anyone committing a crime on or after that date. The SRA created a determinate sentence system, whereby courts are to sentence defendants for fixed terms that will not be changed by action of the Board of Prison Terms and Parole (the Board). The SRA changed the…