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Butler v. Hernandez
Citation: 83 F. App'x 219Docket: No. 02-56683; D.C. No. CV-02-00073-GAF
Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; December 14, 2003; Federal Appellate Court
Warden R.J. Hernandez appeals the district court's ruling that granted Ray Anthony Butler's habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, which argued that Butler's 25-years-to-life sentence for petty theft with a prior under California's three-strikes law constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, violating the Eighth Amendment. The appeal references the Supreme Court's decisions in Lockyer v. Andrade and Ewing v. California, both affirming that similar sentences did not contravene federal law or the Eighth Amendment. Consequently, the district court's judgment is reversed. This decision is not to be published and cannot be cited in this circuit except as specified by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.