Starkes v. Marks

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

BECHTLE, District Judge.

Presently before the Court is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought by a state prisoner pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The petitioner, Roddy Starkes (“Starkes”), is presently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. The petition presents the issue of whether due process requires that Pennsylvania courts select one of two approved, but differing, charges defining “reasonable doubt” for uniform use in Pennsylvania. For the reasons which follow, the petition will be denied.

I

On June 29, 1977, Starkes was…