People v. Urbina CA4/1, D082879

Irving R. Urbina was convicted by a jury of possessing fentanyl for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351) and admitted a prior strike conviction.
Police found Urbina in a Jack-in-the-Box bathroom exhibiting signs of drug use; he possessed two packages of fentanyl totaling over 50 grams.
Urbina testified at trial, claiming the fentanyl was for personal use due to his addiction and that he purchased in bulk to minimize risk and save money.
At trial, prosecutors introduced evidence of Urbina’s 2009 drug-related felony conviction to impeach his testimony.
Urbina also had two 2011 felony convictions: first degree robbery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The trial court imposed a six-year prison sentence, refused to strike the prior strike, and admitted Urbina’s 2009 conviction for impeachment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admission of 2009 drug conviction for impeachment	Prior conviction shows readiness to do evil, admissible under CA law	Admitting remote and similar conviction is unduly prejudicial under Evidence Code 352	Admission was within the court’s discretion
Denial of motion to strike prior strike	Urbina’s criminal history fits Three Strikes’ intent	Prior strike was old; present crime non-violent and caused by drug addiction	Denial of motion was not an abuse of discretion

People v. Clair, 2 Cal.4th 629 (Cal. 1992) (explained Prop. 8 authorizes use of felony convictions for impeachment)
People v. Castro, 38 Cal.3d 301 (Cal. 1985) (moral turpitude required for impeachment with prior)
People v. Clark, 52 Cal.4th 856 (Cal. 2011) (outlined court’s discretion to exclude impeachment convictions under Evid. Code 352)
People v. Beagle, 6 Cal.3d 441 (Cal. 1972) (listing factors for weighing prejudice of prior felonies for impeachment)
People v. Williams, 17 Cal.4th 148 (Cal. 1998) (Three Strikes dismissal discretion factors)
People v. Carmony, 33 Cal.4th 367 (Cal. 2004) (abuse of discretion standard on refusal to dismiss prior strike)