James Robert McQueary v. James Blodgett, Superintendent, Wsp Corrections, Dept of Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board

James Robert McQueary appeals from dismissal of his petition for a writ of habe-as corpus.

I

The parties agree that this court has jurisdiction, if at all, under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 , which provides that federal courts “shall entertain an application for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court only on the ground that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (a) (1988) (emphasis added). The district court concluded that McQueary had failed to present a cognizable claim under the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States. Because we agree with that conclusion, we affirm dismissal of the petition. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).

II

Appellant McQueary was convicted of first-degree assault on his own plea on August 4, 1976. His crime involved the assault, stabbing, and abandonment of a woman in a secluded, wooded area. Following his conviction, the trial court imposed a life sentence with no recommendation for a minimum term of confinement. The prosecution recommended seventy-five years, and the state Board of Prison Terms and Paroles (now called the…