Can a federal habeas judge grant relief in a case where the sentencing of an assault with deadly weapon enhancement was based on a state law question?

state law and therefore [was] not cognizable in a federal habeas corpus proceeding" (bracketed material added)); Miller v. Vasquez, 868 F.2d 1116, 1118-19 (9th Cir. 1989) (whether assault with deadly weapon was serious felony under state enhancement statute was state law question not cognizable on federal habeas review).

In limited circumstances, a sentencing error may provide a basis for habeas relief if it is "so arbitrary or capricious as to constitute an independent due process" violation. Richmond, 506 U.S. at 50 (citing Lewis, 497 U.S. at 780); see also Christian, 41 F.3d at 469 ("Absent a showing of fundamental unfairness, a state court's misapplication of its own sentencing laws does not justify federal habeas relief.") However, a habeas petitioner cannot "transform a state-law issue into a federal one merely by asserting a violation of due process." Landgord v. Day, 110 F.3d 1380, 1389 (9th Cir. 1997).