5/24/10 Pearson v. Muntz (9th Cir): State's claims were based on a misreading of Hayward v. Marshall (2010)

Case Holding:

A state-created right, such as California's requirement that parole be granted unless there some evidence of future dangerousness, may give rise to a protected liberty interest that can be enforced as a matter of federal law and via a federal habeas petition. The district court granted the California prisoner's habeas petition because the Governor's decision reversing a grant of parole was not supported by some evidence. The State filed a stay alleging the district court applied the wrong law, and the Ninth Circuit granted the stay until it decided Hayward v. Marshall (2010) __ F.3d __ (06-55392).

In Hayward, the court held that federal habeas claims by California prisoners based on parole denials must decide whether the "some evidence" requirement used by California courts was unreasonably applied. After the Hayward opinion, the Ninth Circuit lifted the stay. The State filed a motion for reconsideration. But because all of the State's claims were based on a misreading of Hayward, the motion for reconsideration was denied.