Does a federal habeas petition alleging that a state has interpreted the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment violate federal rights?

Although federal courts have no jurisdiction to hear habeas petitions alleging only state law interpretations, some violations of state law may implicate federally-protected rights. See Whalen v. United States, 445 U.S. 684, 689-90 n. 4 (1980) (the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment "would presumably prohibit the state courts from depriving persons of liberty or property as punishment for criminal conduct except to the extent authorized by state law"); Hicks v. Oklahoma, 447 U.S. 343 (1980) (failure of a state court

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