Agtuca

Agtuca v. Bail

Good Law
68 F. App'x 787
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitJune 13, 2003No. 02-35756California278 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM *

Kenneth Duane Agtuca asks us to hold that Washington state statutes grant a prisoner a liberty interest in receiving a “certificate of discharge” for a given conviction as soon as the sentence for that conviction has been served. He urges that this liberty interest exists regardless of whether a prisoner remains incarcerated after the completion of the sentence for a discrete conviction, as may occur when, as in Agtuca’s own case, a prisoner is serving sentences concurrently. The state’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (“ISRB”) exercised its discretion not to issue a certificate of discharge to Agtuca, given his circumstances. Agtuca argues that this refusal to acknowledge that he *788 had finished serving a sentence violates his right to due process.

Because Agtuca did not raise a federal law claim, whether there is a due process violation hinges on an alleged violation of state law, and we are bound by the determination of the state court as to the meaning of its own statutes. See Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67-68 , 112 S.Ct. 475 , 116 L.Ed.2d 385 (1991). In deciding Agtuca’s direct appeal, the state court of appeals interpreted the statutes in question…

Sign in to read the full opinion

Create a free account to read the complete opinion text, citation history, and good-law status for this case.