Pittman

MEMORANDUM *

Mario Dion Pittman appeals the district court’s opinion and order denying his habeas corpus petition filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . Specifically, Pittman challenges the district court’s holding that it could not retroactively apply the new rule established in Apprendi v. New Jersey 1 to cases on initial collateral review. We have jurisdiction to hear this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . We affirm the district court’s opinion.

The decision to deny a § 2255 petition is reviewed de novo. 2 Pittman asserts that his guilty plea was unknowing and involuntary because he had not been informed that the drug quantity finding had to be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. He bases this claim on the Supreme Court’s decision in Apprendi. That case held that any fact, other than a prior conviction, that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. 3 Our recent decision in United States v. Sanchez-Cervantes 4 , forecloses Pittman’s claim. In Sanchez-Cervantes, we held that Apprendi does not apply retroactively to cases on initial collateral review. 5…