Charles Windham v. Matthew Cate
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Charles Windham appeals the district court’s judgment denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Windham was convicted in 2002 of three counts of violating California’s sex-offender registration laws: one count of failing to notify law enforcement of a change in his address (Cal.Penal Code § 290(f)(1) (2000)) and two counts of failing to update his sex offender registration annually (Cal.Penal Code § 290(a)(1) (2000)). Pursuant to California’s Three Strikes law, he received three sentences of 25 years to life in prison — one on each count — to run consecutively.
After the district court dismissed Wind-ham’s habeas corpus petition, we granted a certificate of appealability on the following issue: “whether [Windham’s] sentence of 75 years to life constitutes cruel, unusual and disproportionate punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment, including whether [trial] counsel was ineffective for failing to raise this issue at sentencing.” Because no state court has passed upon the merits of these questions, we review both de novo. Pirtle v. Morgan, 313 F.3d 1160, 1167-68 (9th Cir.2002). We affirm the decision of the district court.