Young v. Miller

Petitioner Jedonna Young appeals the denial of her petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Young was convicted in a bench trial in Detroit Recorders Court on September 13, 1979 of possession with intent to deliver six hundred and fifty grams or more of heroin, in violation of Mich.Comp.Laws § 333.7401(2)(a)(1). Pursuant to statute, she was sentenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. On appeal, Young asserts that (1) the district court erred in not holding an evidentiary hearing to determine whether she had received ineffective assistance of counsel; (2) the state trial court violated her due process rights under the fourteenth amendment by not severing her trial from that of her co-defendant; and (3) the mandatory life sentence without parole is so disproportionate to her crime as to constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment. Finding no merit in any of these three contentions, we affirm.