Miguel Rosas v. James Nielsen

Miguel Rosas petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 alleging that he was improperly denied parole and that he was denied due process and effective assistance of counsel at sentencing. The district court denied his petition and declined to issue a certificate of appealability. We affirm the district court’s denial of Rosas’s petition with respect to his first ground for relief, and we dismiss his appeal with respect to the second ground for lack of jurisdiction.

On November 2, 1990, Rosas pled no contest to the crime of second degree murder and was later sentenced to fifteen years to life in prison. After his first parole hearing the Board of Prison Terms determined that Rosas was not suitable for parole, basing its decision, in part, on the circumstances of his offense. The Board further concluded that it was not reasonable to expect that Rosas would be found suitable for parole at any time during the next five years and issued a five-year deni al of parole pursuant to CaLPenal Code § 3041.5(b)(2)(B).

On March 2, 2000, Rosas filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus in Solano County Superior Court. His petition was denied on March 24, 2000. Rosas…