Ernest Carpenter v. D. Neven ( 2018 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS AUG 21 2018
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ERNEST DEAN CARPENTER, No. 17-16865
Petitioner-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:11-cv-00867-APG
v.
MEMORANDUM*
D. W. NEVEN and ATTORNEY
GENERAL FOR THE STATE OF
NEVADA,
Respondents-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Nevada
Andrew P. Gordon, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted August 15, 2018**
Before: FARRIS, BYBEE, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Nevada state prisoner Ernest Dean Carpenter appeals pro se from the district
court’s judgment denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We have
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253. We review the district court’s denial of a
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
section 2254 habeas petition de novo, see Gonzalez v. Duncan, 551 F.3d 875, 879
(9th Cir. 2008), and we affirm.
Carpenter challenges his sentence of life without parole for felony burglary
under Nevada’s Habitual Criminal Act, Nev. Rev. Stat. § 207.010, as cruel and
unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Nevada Supreme
Court’s decision affirming Carpenter’s sentence was not “contrary to,” nor did it
involve “an unreasonable application of clearly established Federal law, as
determined by the Supreme Court of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1);
see Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63, 73 (2003). Carpenter’s felony convictions
stretch back three decades, and include convictions for burglary, attempted grand
larceny, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In light of the seriousness of
Carpenter’s offense and prior criminal history, his sentence is not so grossly
disproportionate as to present an “extraordinary case” under the Eighth
Amendment. See id. at 77.
AFFIRMED.
2 17-16865