Does a criminal defendant state a prima facie case of vindictive prosecution, triggering a presumption of vindictiveness, when the day after he succeeds in getting half the prosecution's case dismissed after representing himself in a preliminary hearing, the prosecutor files new charges, based on the same facts, that result in a sentence nearly twice as long as the stayed sentence ultimately imposed on the charges sustained at the preliminary hearing?

QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Does a criminal defendant state a prima facie case of vindictive prosecution, trigging a presumption of vindictiveness, when the day after he succeeds in getting half the prosecution’s case dismissed after representing himself in a preliminary hearing, the prosecutor files new charges, based on the same facts, that result in a sentence nearly twice as long as the stayed sentence ultimately imposed on the charges sustained at the preliminary hearing? 2. Does the failure of counsel on state direct appeal to raise the foregoing vindictive prosecution claim establish cause and prejudice to excuse a procedural default when there was no valid reason for failing to raise the claim and the claim was the only one certified for appeal in federal habeas, reflecting that it was petitioner’s strongest federal constitutional claim? 1 PARTIES AND LIST OF PRIOR PROCEEDINGS The parties to this proceeding are Petitioner Jesus Corona and Respondent James Hill, Acting Warden of the California Institution for Men.! The California Attorney General represents Respondent. On May 16, 2014, a San Bernardino County, California jury found Petitioner guilty of three counts of second degree robbery and found true the special allegation that he used a firearm in committing the robberies in People v. Corona, case no. FWV1200093. 2 RT 300-302.2 On May 19, 2014, after a bifurcated trial, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Gregory S. Tavill found true that Petitioner had a suffered a prior robbery conviction, 2 RT 308-310. On July 17, 2014, Judge Tavill sentenced Petitioner to 51 years in state prison. 2 RT 317, 319. On November 13, 2014, after the California Department of Corrections noticed an error in the sentence, Judge Tavill re-sentenced Petitioner to a sentence of 87 years, eight months. 11/13/14 RT 1-10. 1 Although Neil McDowell is named as Respondent in the Ninth Circuit’s memorandum opinion affirming the judgment, the website for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation indicates that Corona is currently held in State custody at the California Institution for Men in Chino, California, and that James Hill is the Acting Warden of that facility. See (last visited, December 3, 2021). Accordingly, Corona names Hill as Respondent in this Petition rather than McDowell. See Supreme Court Rule 35.3. 2 “RT” refers to the reporter’s transcript of trial lodged in district court at docket 29, lodgment 19. il The California Court of Appeal, per Justice Jeffrey King, Acting Presiding Justice Art W. McKinster, and Justice Douglas P. Miller, affirmed the judgment on appeal in an unpublished opinion filed September 25, 2015 in People v. Corona, case no. E061580. Pet. App. 84-96.3 The California Supreme Court denied Corona’s petition for review on December 9, 2015 in case no. $230367. Pet. App. 83. On February 6, 2017, Judge Tavill summarily denied Corona’s pro se habeas petition raising the vindictive prosecution claim that is the subject of this Petition in San Bernardino County Superior Court case no. WHCJS1600208. Pet. App. 80-82. On May 4, 2017, the California Court of Appeal, per Acting Presiding Justice Marsha G. Slough, Justice Manuel A. Ramirez, and Justice Thomas E. Hollenhorst, summarily denied Corona’s pro se habeas petition reasserting his vindictive prosecution claim in case no. E068080. Pet. App. 78. On September 18, 2017, the California Supreme Court summarily denied Corona’s pro se petition reasserting his claim in case no. §242936. Pet. App. 77. On June 12, 2019, United States Magistrate Judge Shashi H. Kewelramani filed a report recommending that Corona’s federal habeas petition be dismissed with prejudice in Corona v. McDowell, C.D. Cal. case 3 “Pet, App.” refers to the