De Leon v. Muntz

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION MAR 10 2011 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT ELMOR JACOB DE LEON, No. 06-55895 Petitioner - Appellant, D.C. No. CV-06-00588-RSWL v. MEMORANDUM * M. A. MUNTZ, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Ronald S.W. Lew, District Judge, Presiding Submitted March 8, 2011 ** Before: FARRIS, LEAVY, and BYBEE, Circuit Judges. California state prisoner Elmor Jacob De Leon appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We dismiss. * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). De Leon contends that the Board’s 2004 decision to deny him parole was not supported by “some evidence” and therefore violated his due process rights. After briefing was completed in this case, this court held that a certificate of appealability (“COA”) is required to challenge the denial of parole. See Hayward v. Marshall, 603 F.3d 546, 554-55 (9th Cir. 2010) (en banc). Now the Supreme Court has held that the only federal right at issue in the parole context is procedural, and the only proper inquiry is what process the inmate received, not whether the state court decided the case correctly. See Swarthout v. Cooke, 131 S. Ct. 859, 862-63 (2011). Because De Leon raises no procedural challenges, a COA cannot issue, and we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). Further, because De Leon has not has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right, we decline to certify his remaining claims. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c). DISMISSED. 2 06-55895