Jones

MEMORANDUM **

Mark Edward Jones, petitioner-appellant, asserts that it is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment for California to require him to register as a sexual offender based on his conviction for oral copulation with a minor when California does not require registration of those convicted of sexual intercourse with a minor. See Cal-Penal Code §§ 261.5(a), 288a(b)(l), 290. The California courts denied petitioner relief and the district court denied his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. We review de novo the district court’s denial of a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . Williams v. Rhoades, 354 F.3d 1101, 1106 (9th Cir.2004); Lewis v. Lewis, 321 F.3d 824, 829 (9th Cir.2003).

As an initial matter, we reject respondent’s argument that petitioner is barred from challenging the requirement that he register as a sex offender because his underlying conviction is final. Petitioner is not challenging the validity of his prior conviction; he challenges the constitutionality of the basis for his most recent conviction. Accordingly, Lackawanna County Disk Attorney v. Coss, 532 U.S. 394 , 121 S.Ct. 1567 , 149 L.Ed.2d 608 (2001), and Daniels…