The following excerpt is from Hammond v. Gastelo, Case No.: 20-cv-00261-BAS (DEB) (S.D. Cal. 2020):
A sentencing error may violate due process if the state court misapplied its sentencing laws in an arbitrary or capricious manner. See Richmond v. Lewis, 506 U.S. 40, 50 (1992) ("[T]he federal, constitutional question is whether [the sentencing error] is so arbitrary or capricious as to constitute an independent due process . . . violation."). "Absent a showing of fundamental unfairness, a state court's misapplication of its own sentencing laws does not justify federal habeas relief." Christian v. Rhode, 41 F.3d 461, 469 (9th Cir. 1994). Nothing fundamentally unfair occurred here.
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