Starkes

MEMORANDUM **

We affirm the district court’s denial of Anthony Starkes’s petition for writ of habeas corpus.

A. Bifurcation

The California state court concluded Starkes’s counsel was not ineffective in failing to seek bifurcation of his two prior felonies from the guilt determination of the charged crimes. This issue was thoroughly explored in an evidentiary hearing in state court, which revealed that Starkes’s counsel made a strategic choice to permit the jury to hear about the two prior felonies. See Gerlaugh v. Stewart, 129 F.3d 1027, 1033 (9th Cir.1997) (“A reasonable tactical choice based on an adequate inquiry is immune from attack under Strickland. ”).

Starkes’s counsel believed the witnesses’ identifications were questionable and that a jury would be less likely to convict on such scant evidence if it were aware the case involved the “three strikes” law. She also believed this was a viable strategy because the two felonies were dated and factually dissimilar from the charged conduct. Aware of all relevant law, and having considered the risks, Starkes’s counsel made a reasonable tactical choice to adopt this strategy in light of the particular circumstances of the case.…