Thomas

MEMORANDUM

Richard Leon Thomas (“Thomas”) is a prisoner in state custody serving a sentence of twenty-five years to life as a result of California’s Three Strikes law for the sale of $10 of cocaine base, a strike-qualifying offense. Thomas challenges the district court’s decision to deny his petition for habeas relief under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The provisions of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) apply to a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed in federal court after April 24, 1996. Since Thomas filed his petition on August 10, 1999, AEDPA controls his case. AEDPA, in pertinent part, provides the following standard of review:

28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d). “A state court decision is ‘contrary to’ clearly established federal law if it failed to apply the correct controlling authority from the Supreme Court.” Brown v. Mayle, 283 F.3d 1019, 1024 (9th Cir.2002) (internal quotations omitted). In order to merit habeas relief under the “contrary to” clause of AEDPA, a petitioner must show not only that the state court failed to apply clearly established Supreme Court law but also that the error had a substantial or injurious…