Dickinson

Richard Horton v. Dickinson

Good Law
456 F. App'x 660
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitOctober 28, 201108-56927California229 words

Opinion

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

California state prisoner Richard Horton appeals 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.

Horton contends that his upper-term sentence violates his Sixth Amendment rights because it was based on aggravating facts found by a judge relying on a probation report, rather than by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

The California Court of Appeal’s determination that Horton’s upper-term sentence is constitutional because it was based on the fact that he served a prior prison term and the fact that he was on probation at the time of the underlying crime was not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1); Kessee v. Mendoza-Powers, 574 F.3d 675, 677 (9th Cir.2009). Any error related to other judicial fact-finding was harmless, because, under California law, one aggravating factor is sufficient to impose an upper-term sentence. See People v. Black, 41 Cal.4th 799, 815 , 62 Cal.Rptr.3d 569 , 161 P.3d 1130 (2007); see also Butler v. Curry, 528 F.3d 624, 642-43 (9th Cir.2008)…

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