Kenneth Wayne Dupuy v. Robert H. Butler, Sr., Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary, Respondent

State prisoner Kenneth Wayne Dupuy applies for habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, arguing that his so-called split-sentence is a violation of Louisiana state criminal sentencing procedure amounting to a due process violation under the federal constitution according to the teachings of Hicks v. Oklahoma. 1 We do not decide whether Dupuy’s split-sentence does or does not violate state law. Instead, we shall assume there was a state law violation because, even making this assumption, we hold that Dupuy does not have a valid Hicks claim. We therefore affirm the district court’s denial…