The following excerpt is from Poplar v. Biter, No. 2:12-cv-1368 JAM KJN P (E.D. Cal. 2013):
Under narrow circumstances, a sentencing error may violate due process if the state court misapplied its sentencing laws in an arbitrary, capricious or fundamentally unfair manner. Richmond v. Lewis, 506 U.S. 40, 50 (1992) (the "constitutional question is whether [the sentencing error] is so arbitrary or capricious as to constitute an independent due process ... violation.") (internal quotation marks and citations omitted); Hicks v. Oklahoma, 447 U.S. 343, (1980) (defendant's due process rights violated if state arbitrarily deprives defendant of state law entitlement).
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.