Cooper

Defendant Victor Wayne Cooper was convicted by a jury of four counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a seven-year-old girl. (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a).) Defendant is serving an enhanced sentence of four consecutive terms of fifteen years to life due to two prior rape convictions. (Pen. Code, § 667.51, subd. (d).) Defendant seeks to overturn his conviction on grounds of juror misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, and denial of his right to present evidence on his motion below for a new trial. In addition to this appeal, defendant petitions for a writ of habeas corpus alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and improper use at sentencing of a constitutionally invalid prior conviction. That petition was consolidated with defendant’s appeal for purposes of argument and briefing.

We affirm the judgment and, in a discussion following our treatment of the issues raised on appeal, deny the petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In the published portion of this opinion, we address defendant’s habeas corpus claim that he did not waive his right to a jury trial when pleading guilty to a prior offense, thereby rendering the prior conviction invalid and precluding its…