Thomas

MEMORANDUM ***

Petitioner-Appellant Dirk John Thomas (“Thomas”) appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Thomas was convicted of receiving stolen property, in violation of California Penal Code § 496(a), and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole under California’s three-strikes law, California Penal Code § 667(e)(2)(A). This court granted a Certificate of Appealability limited to the issue of whether Thomas’ 25 years to life sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. We review de novo the district court’s denial of Thomas’ habeas petition, Luna v. Cambra, 306 F.3d 954, 959 (9th Cir.), as amended by 311 F.3d 928 (9th Cir.2002), and affirm.

Because Thomas filed his habeas petition in 1999, his appeal is governed by the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), which requires us to determine if the state court’s denial of Thomas’ habeas petition was “contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1). Ordinarily, we look to…