Skannal

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JUSTIN C. SKANNAL, Case No. 20-cv-08014-VC (PR)

Petitioner,

ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITHOUT

v. PREJUDICE

GIGI MATTESON, et al., Respondents.

Justin C. Skannal, a state inmate, filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging a judgment from the Santa Clara County superior court. The court reviewed the petition and, on February 26, 2021, issued an Order Dismissing Two Claims with Leave to Amend. In the order, the court noted that two of Skannal’s three claims were based on state law. The court explained that the two state-law claims had to be dismissed because, under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a), only claims based on the violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States are cognizable. The court dismissed the two claims with leave to amend so that Skannal could file an amended complaint explaining how his claims violated federal law or the federal Constitution. The court also noted that Skannal’s claims were not exhausted in state court. The court explained that, before a federal court could consider claims in a habeas…