Morton Berger v. Thomas C. Horne
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Petitioner Morton Berger appeals from the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for a writ of habeas corpus. After being convicted of twenty counts of possession of child pornography, a class two felony and a dangerous crime against children in the first degree, in violation of Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 13-3551, 13-3553, and 13-604.01 (renumbered as A.R.S. § 13-705), Berger was sentenced to a ten-year sentence for each conviction, with the terms to run consecutively as mandated by Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 13-604.01 and 13-3553. Berger challenged the sentence on direct appeal, arguing that the total sentence of 200 years was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Arizona Supreme Court rejected his argument and upheld the sentence.
Berger raises the same Eighth Amendment challenge in his federal habeas petition. The district court concluded that the Arizona Supreme Court’s resolution of Berger’s Eighth Amendment challenge was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253 and now affirm.