E082728
Cal. Ct. App.Aug 7, 2025Background:
- Oscar Arturo Mejia was convicted by a jury of eight counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, involving two stepdaughters (C. and L.) and a stepgranddaughter (J.), all alleged to have occurred when the victims were minors.
- The jury also found true the multiple-victim allegation for each count under California’s one-strike law.
- The alleged abuse took place between 1996 and 2006, but was not reported until 2017, prompted by J.'s concern for her daughter.
- Mejia denied all allegations and presented testimony from family members supporting his character.
- The trial court sentenced Mejia to 120 years in prison (eight consecutive 15-year terms) and instructed the jury under CALCRIM No. 1191B regarding the use of other sex offenses as propensity evidence.
- On appeal, Mejia challenged the validity of this jury instruction on due process grounds and identified clerical errors in the abstract of judgment.
Issues:
| Issue | Mejia's Argument | People's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutionality of CALCRIM No. 1191B use of propensity evidence | Violates due process by lowering burden of proof and enabling irrational inferences | Binding precedent holds instruction is constitutional, does not reduce burden of proof | No violation; instruction is constitutional per precedent |
| Application of instructed date range to charged offenses | Incident described by J. was outside charged timeframe, thus required uncharged misconduct instruction | Officer testimony brought incident within charged dates, and date precision not required | Argument fails; proper charged offense instruction given |
| Correction of abstract of judgment clerical errors | Contains errors on statute and crime dates | Acknowledged errors | Court orders correction of errors |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Falsetta, 21 Cal.4th 903 (Cal. 1999) (upholding constitutionality of admitting propensity evidence under § 1108 in sex offense cases)
- People v. Villatoro, 54 Cal.4th 1152 (Cal. 2012) (permitting CALCRIM No. 1191 use for both charged and uncharged sex offenses, does not lessen burden of proof)
- People v. Reliford, 29 Cal.4th 1007 (Cal. 2003) (section 1108 allows inference of propensity from evidence of other sex offenses)