Phelps v. Vannatta

ORDER

Charles Phelps, an Indiana prisoner, does not dispute that he is a recidivist, but he does object to his latest sentence being enhanced under his state’s habitual offender statute. Phelps argues that records of his prior felony convictions in 1981 and 1986 were never given or read to jurors in his criminal trial, and therefore jurors had insufficient evidence to conclude that he was a habitual offender. After the state courts of Indiana rejected Phelps’ insufficiency of the evidence argument, Phelps petitioned the district court for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The…