Federal Relief for State Refusal of Parole

The United States Supreme Court, in a per curiam opinion, overruled the Ninth Circuit's requiring California to consider again granting parole for a couple of prisoners. They said federal habeas relief is not available for an error of state law. Also the federal Due Process Clause does not require proper application of California's evidentiary standard for denying parole.

Justice Ginsberg concurred. She implied— contrary to the main opinion— that the principles controlling revocation of good-time credits should control in a case like this. The Ninth Circuit, though, had precedent that the prisoners didn't have federal rights to correct an error of California state law by California.