Jones

MEMORANDUM **

California state prisoner Earl Otha Jones appeals the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition challenging his 1997 state sentence for petty theft with a prior felony conviction in violation of California Penal Code § 666. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we affirm.

Jones contends that his 25 year to life sentence under California’s three strikes law, CaLPenal Code Ann. § 667 (West 1999), is cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. This claim is foreclosed by the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Lockyer v. Andrade, — U.S.-, 123 S.Ct. 1166, 1175-76 , 155 L.Ed.2d 144 (2003) (“affirmance of two consecutive 25 years to life sentences for petty theft was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law”), and Ewing v. California, — U.S.-, 123 S.Ct. 1179, 1190-91 , 155 L.Ed.2d 108 (2003) (holding that petitioner’s 25 years to life sentence under the California three strikes law did not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment).

Jones also contends that the manner in which California prosecutes the offense of petty theft with a prior…