the Supreme Court of the United States

“ It is not enough to note that a habeas petitioner asserts the existence of a constitutional violation; unless the federal court agrees with that assertion, it may not grant relief. The Seventh Circuit's opinion reflects no such agreement, nor does it even articulate what federal right was allegedly infringed. In fact, as to one possible federal claim, the court maintains that it would not violate federal law for Indiana to adopt a rule authorizing what the trial court did. ”

“ Federal courts may not issue writs of habeas corpus to state prisoners whose confinement does not violate federal law. Because the Court of Appeals granted the writ to respondent without finding such a violation, we vacate its judgment and remand.
* * In 1997, respondent Joseph Corcoran shot and killed four men, including his brother and his sister's fiance. An Indiana jury found him guilty of four counts of murder, found the statutory aggravating circumstance of multiple murders, and unanimously recommended capital punishment. The trial judge agreed and sentenced respondent to death. ”

“ And we have repeatedly held that "'federal habeas corpus relief does not lie for errors of state law.'" Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67 (1991) (quoting Lewis v. Jeffers, 497 U.S. 764, 780 (1990) ) . " [I] t is not the province of a federal habeas court to reexamine state-court determinations on state-law questions." 502 U.S., at 67–68. But here, the panel's
page 5, slip opinion opinion contained no hint that it thought the violation of Indiana law it had unearthed also entailed the infringement of any federal right. ”