Does the error in a jury instruction under state law in a civil case apply for federal habeas relief?

^4. Ordinarily, an error in a jury instruction under state law does not support a cognizable claim on federal habeas review. See Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 71 (1991) ("[T]he fact that [an] instruction was allegedly incorrect under state law is not a basis for habeas relief."). Reading the petition generously, however, we construe the petition to be raising a claim that the jury instructions violated petitioner's due process rights by relieving the government of its burden to prove every essential element of a crime.