FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION FEB 23 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
JERRY A. BURTON, No. 10-15668
Petitioner - Appellant, D.C. No. 1:09-cv-00354-JLT
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ADAMS, Warden,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
Jennifer L. Thurston, Magistrate Judge,** Presiding
Submitted February 15, 2011 ***
Before: CANBY, FERNANDEZ, and M. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
California state prisoner Jerry A. Burton appeals pro se from the district
court’s dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We have jurisdiction
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
This case was assigned, by the consent of the parties, to a Magistrate
Judge, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1).
***
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
under 28 U.S.C. § 2253,1 and we affirm.
Burton contends that the prison disciplinary decision validating him as a
gang member and subsequently placing him in the Segregated Housing Unit (SHU)
and precluding him from earning credits pursuant to California Penal Code § 2933
violated his constitutional rights. The district court properly dismissed Burton’s
petition for lack of jurisdiction. Even if Burton exhausted his state judicial
remedies, his petition fails to raise a federally cognizable claim for which habeas
relief may be granted. See Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 489 (1973); see
also Ramirez v. Galaza, 334 F.3d 850, 859 (9th Cir. 2003) (“[H]abeas jurisdiction
is absent, and a § 1983 action proper, where a successful challenge to a prison
condition will not necessarily shorten the prisoner’s sentence.”).
AFFIRMED.
1
We certify for appeal, on our own motion, the issue of whether Burton’s
habeas petition (1) was exhausted and (2) raised a federally cognizable claim for
which habeas relief may be granted.
2 10-15668