England

MEMORANDUM **

John Charles England appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ *540 of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . We affirm as to the certified issue, and decline to reach the uncertified issue.

I

England basically treats this matter as if it were before us on direct appeal and we could hold that the Apprendi 1 right to jury trial includes a jury determination of the elements of prior convictions beyond the mere fact of those convictions. This is not the posture of this case, however, and the question before us instead is whether the California Court of Appeal’s decision was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law. 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d); Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 413 , 120 S.Ct. 1495 , 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). The answer to that question is no. The United States Supreme Court held in Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 239 , 118 S.Ct. 1219 , 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998), that the enhancement of a sentence based on a prior conviction is not an element of the charged offense that needs to be charged or submitted to the jury. It has adhered to this rule ever since. See, e.g., Jones…