Cassett v. Stewart
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Petitioner Gary Cassett (“Cassett”) appeals the district court’s denial of his Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, in which he contested his convictions for child molestation and sexual conduct with a minor under age 14. We remand to the district court with directions to dismiss the petition because Cassett failed to exhaust his federal due process claim in the Arizona state courts. Because the parties are familiar with the factual and procedural history in this case, we will not recount it here.
I.
The district court erred in holding that Cassett exhausted his due process claims in state court. Under the Antiterrorism
Cassett must present his federal due process claim to the state’s highest court, in this case, the Arizona Supreme Court. Reese v. Baldwin, 282 F.3d 1184, 1191 (9th Cir. 2002). In his Petition for Review filed with the Arizona Supreme Court, Cassett contended that the disclosure of his prior withdrawn guilty plea at trial violated Ariz. R.Crim. P. 26.6(d)(2), which he alleged “protects federal Fifth Amendment rights.” Nowhere in his Petition for Review filed with the Arizona Supreme Court does Cassett discuss Fourteenth Amendment due process
II.
We hold the district court erred in concluding that Cassett adequately exhausted his federal due process claim, and based on this error, improperly reached the merits of Cassett’s claim. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment and remand with directions that the petition be dismissed for failure to exhaust state court remedies.
VACATED and REMANDED with directions.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. Because Cassett challenged in state court the potentially prejudicial effect of Sloss’s testimony revealing Cassett’s prior guilty plea, he needed to raise Fourteenth Amendment due process claims, which he failed to do.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Gary Paul CASSETT, Petitioner—Appellant v. Terry L. STEWART, Respondent—Appellee
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published