22
Opinion of the Court
Ian G. Sonego, Assistant Attorney General of Kentucky, argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs were Chris Gorman, Attorney General, and David A. Sexton, Assistant Attorney General.
John F. Manning argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae urging reversal. With him on the brief were Solicitor General Starr, Assistant Attorney General Mueller, Deputy Solicitor General Bryson, and Sean Connelly. J. Gregory Clare, by appointment of the Court, 503 U. S. 957, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief was Mark R. Brown.*
Justice O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. Kentucky's "Persistent felony offender sentencing" statute, Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.080 (Michie 1990), provides mandatory minimum sentences for repeat felons. Under Kentucky law, a defendant charged as a persistent felony offender may challenge prior convictions that form the basis of the charge on the ground that they are invalid. Respondent, who was indicted under the statute, claimed that two convictions offered against him were invalid under Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U. S. 238 (1969). The trial court, after a hearing, rejected this claim, and respondent was convicted and sentenced as a persistent felony offender. After exhausting his state remedies, respondent petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The District Court denied relief, but the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ordered that the writ conditionally issue, concluding that the trial court proceedings were constitutionally infirm. As it comes to this Court, the question presented is whether Kentucky's procedure for determining a prior conviction's validity under Boykin violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
*Kent S. Scheidegger filed a brief for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation as amicus curiae urging reversal.
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