What is the test for habeas corpus relief in the context of errors in the interpretation or application of sentencing laws by either a state or appellate court?
The following excerpt is from Rangel v. Cash, No. 2:11-cv-2273 KJM EFB P (E.D. Cal. 2013):
Habeas corpus relief is unavailable for alleged errors in the interpretation or application of state sentencing laws by either a state trial court or appellate court. "State courts are the ultimate expositors of state law," and a federal habeas court is bound by the state's construction except when it appears that its interpretation is an obvious subterfuge to evade the consideration of a federal issue. Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684, 691 (1975). So long as a state sentence "is not based on any proscribed federal grounds such as being cruel and unusual, racially or
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