Opinion
We address in this case whether the evidence was sufficient for the court to find that a prior felony conviction of second degree assault from
Defendant Michael Roberts pleaded guilty to assault upon a peace officer, grand theft, and evading an officer. He also admitted the Washington conviction, but denied that it constituted a strike. The court found the strike allegation true and sentenced defendant—utilizing the prior strike to calculate the sentence—to an aggregate prison term of nine years four months.
We conclude that the court erred in admitting over defendant’s objection the prosecutor’s statement reciting the alleged facts relating to the Washington offense; this hearsay evidence was not admissible as an adoptive admission. We hold further that the unsworn statements of defendant, his attorney, and the victim made to the Washington court after it had accepted the guilty plea were also inadmissible to prove the strike. Although defendant’s trial counsel failed to object to this evidence on the ground that it was not part of “the entire record of conviction,” such omission constituted deficient performance of counsel which was prejudicial. We will therefore consider the otherwise forfeited evidentiary objection. After reviewing only the admissible evidence, we conclude that there was insufficient evidence to support the finding that the Washington conviction constituted a strike. We therefore reverse the judgment and remand the matter to the trial court for further proceedings.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On April 6, 2009, defendant and his girlfriend were in a white Chevrolet Nova at a Valero gas station in Santa Cruz. The car had been reported stolen on April 5. An employee of the Valero station saw defendant accessing the trunk of her car. As she walked toward her car, defendant saw her and fled the area in the Nova. The witness called the police and reported the license plate of the white car. She determined afterwards that she was missing a navigation system and her laptop computer.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Defendant was charged by information filed May 1, 2009, with six felony offenses, namely, assault upon a peace officer (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (c); count l);
Defendant pleaded guilty to three of the felony counts (assault upon a peace officer [count 1], grand theft [count 3], and evading an officer [count 6]). He also admitted the fact of one of the Washington convictions alleged as a strike (i.e., the second degree assault conviction), but did not admit that the conviction constituted a strike. Pursuant to the People’s motion, the court dismissed the remaining counts and struck the remaining allegations, including the second prior strike allegation.
In a later proceeding, the court heard evidence and determined that the second degree assault conviction from the State of Washington constituted a strike under California law. On January 7, 2010, after the court heard and denied defendant’s motion to strike the prior strike allegation pursuant to People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996)
DISCUSSION
I. Adjudication of Washington Conviction as a Strike
A. Background
The People offered two documents into evidence to establish that the Washington conviction was a strike: (1) the documents reflecting the conviction, including the information, statement of defendant’s plea, and judgment
The documents reflecting the conviction did not provide details concerning the underlying offense. The information, reciting the language of the Washington statute for second degree assault, alleged that defendant “[o]n or about May 17, 1999, in the State of Washington, . . . intentionally assaulted Angela Roberts, and thereby recklessly inflicted substantial bodily harm.” The form statement of defendant’s guilty plea similarly mirrored the language of the statute. And the judgment simply recited that defendant had been convicted based on a guilty plea of second degree assault.
The People relied on the reporter’s transcript of the plea and sentencing in support of their contention that the underlying offense involved defendant’s personal infliction of great bodily injury. The matters relied on consisted of (1) the assistant district attorney’s recital of the facts underlying the charge; (2) defendant’s statement to the court after his plea of guilty; (3) the
Immediately after defendant entered his guilty plea, the prosecutor stated: “This . . . arrest was made by the Yakima Police Department on May 26, 1999, about 1:25 in the morning. ... It was determined during the course of the investigation that . . . there was a physical confrontation during which Mr. Roberts assaulted Ms. Roberts by biting her lip and, Your Honor, this caused some permanent scarring and there was a portion of the lip that could not be reattached.” Immediately after this recital, defense counsel said: “Judge, I have no other comment until the time of sentence.” The court, based upon the prosecution’s recital, then found that there was a factual basis for the guilty plea and accepted the plea.
Defendant responded to the court’s inquiry as to whether he had anything to say before the imposition of the sentence: “Yes, I do, Your Honor. I’d like to apologize to Angela Roberts for what happened. ... I do feel that in this case there is some doubts [sz'c] on myself and with her in the case. That’s why I am pleading guilty. But I do understand that I did do bodily harm to her and I plan on pleading guilty for that and I’m sorry.”
Defense counsel then stated: “My client has indicated to me as he just indicated to the Court that he does have a great deal of regret based upon the nature of this injury. It was very serious. ... At the time of the incident in question he has maintained to me that they were involved in a physical fight and that she pulled out a deadly weapon, a letter opener, and he thought she was about to stab him with it. He, therefore, was trying to defend himself and was getting up biting at her. I don’t think he was planning to bite her anywhere on the face area. However, he recognizes that where he did bite her was on her face. My understanding is it was on the lip. And there was quite a large injury inflicted. ... H] ... [f] And again, I think this is a very unfortunate situation in which he never intended to cause this kind of harm. And, in fact, felt and still feels he was defending himself. But, on the other hand, is willing to come forward and take the blame. . . .”
The victim then provided the following statement to the court in connection with sentencing: “I don’t feel that [defendant] should be released on work release. I feel he should serve his time. He did this in front of my children and I’m going to be scarred for the rest of my life. He was not defending himself. That’s not the way it happened. . . .”
The court below concluded that the People had met their burden of establishing that the Washington conviction constituted a strike. In so holding, it relied on the statements from the transcript of the plea and sentencing
B. Applicable Law
The Legislature has indicated its intention under the Three Strikes law that any person convicted of a felony who has suffered one or more prior convictions of a violent or serious felony shall receive enhanced punishment. (§ 667, subd. (b).) In an instance—such as was claimed by the People here—where the person convicted of a felony has sustained one prior serious or violent felony, the punishment for the current offense is doubled. (§ 667, subd. (e)(1).) Section 1192.7, subdivision (c) contains a list of crimes that are serious felonies, which includes “any felony in which the defendant personally inflicts great' bodily injury on any person, other than an accomplice, or any felony in which the defendant personally uses a firearm.” (§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(8).)
A conviction from another state may serve as the basis for an enhanced sentence under the Three Strikes law. As explained by our high court, “For an out-of-state conviction to render a criminal offender eligible for sentencing under the three strikes law (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12), the foreign crime (1) must be such that, ‘if committed in California, [it would be] punishable by imprisonment in the state prison’ (§§ 667, subd. (d)(2), 1170.12, subd. (b)(2)), and (2) must ‘include[] all of the elements of the particular felony as defined in’ section 1192.7[, subdivision] (c) (§§667, subd. (d)(2), 1170.12, subd. (b)(2)).” (People v. Warner (2006) 39 Cal.4th 548, 552-553 [
It is the prosecution’s burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt all of the elements supporting its allegation of a sentence enhancement. (People v. Miles (2008)
C. Discussion of Claim of Error
Defendant contends that there was insufficient admissible evidence upon which the court concluded that the Washington conviction constituted a strike under California law. His argument is based upon the following components: (1) the prior offense, of itself, did not contain all of the essential elements of a serious felony as defined in section 1192.7, subdivision (c), because the Washington statute does not require the personal infliction of great bodily injury as an element of the crime of second degree assault; (2) the Washington prosecutor’s recital of the facts underlying the offense was hearsay, and was not made admissible (as claimed by the People here) under the adoptive admission exception to the hearsay rule; and (3) the other items of evidence upon which the court relied—the statements of defendant, his attorney, and his then wife—were not part of the “record of the conviction” as described in Guerrero, supra,
1. Elements of Washington offense
The Washington crime of second degree assault of which defendant was convicted in 1999 required that the defendant have intentionally assaulted another person and thereby recklessly caused substantial bodily harm. (Wn. Rev. Code § 9A.36.021.)
As provided in Revised Code of Washington section 9A.36.021, “ ‘[substantial bodily harm’ means bodily injury which involves a temporary but substantial disfigurement, or which causes a temporary but substantial loss or impairment of the function of any bodily part or organ, or which causes a fracture of any bodily part.” (Wn. Rev. Code § 9A.04.110, subd. (4)(b); see also State v. Atkinson (2002)
The crime of second degree assault may be committed under Washington law without the defendant having personally inflicted the harm. (See State v. Jesse T. (2003)
Accordingly, even were it true, as claimed by the People, that the crime of second degree assault under the Washington statute is the equivalent of the California felonies of battery resulting in serious bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d)), aggravated assault (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)), or willful infliction of corporal injury on a spouse (§ 273.5, subd. (a)), the mere fact of defendant’s conviction under Revised Code of Washington section 9A.36.021 would not constitute a strike. None of the California crimes claimed to be comparable to the second degree assault conviction constitutes a serious felony under section 1192.7. (See People v. Feyrer (2010)
2. Prosecutor’s recitation of facts
In finding the Washington conviction a strike, the court relied in part on the recitation by the Washington prosecutor of the facts he alleged were the basis for the second degree battery charge. This statement—made after defendant’s entry of a guilty plea but before the court accepted that plea—included a reference to defendant having assaulted the victim by biting her on the lip, the result of which was “some permanent scarring and there was a portion of the lip that could not be reattached.” Neither defendant nor his counsel had commented in response to the prosecutor’s recital. The People claimed below
Before addressing the hearsay claim, we determine whether the prosecutor’s recitation of the alleged facts underlying the conviction is evidence of a type that a court may consider in adjudicating a strike allegation. As noted, the trial court may consider only the “record of the conviction” in determining whether the prior offense constituted a strike. (Guerrero, supra,
We consider whether the prosecutor’s statement was admissible under the adoptive admission exception to the hearsay rule. “Evidence of a statement offered against a party is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule if the statement is one of which the party, with knowledge of the content thereof, has by words or other conduct manifested his adoption or his belief in its truth.” (Evid. Code, § 1221.) As the Supreme Court has explained, “ ‘[i]f a person is accused of having committed a crime, under circumstances which fairly afford him an opportunity to hear, understand, and to reply, and which do not lend themselves to an inference that he was relying on the right of silence guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and he fails to speak, or he makes an evasive or equivocal reply, both the accusatory statement and the fact of silence or equivocation may be offered as an implied or adoptive admission of guilt.’ (People v. Preston (1973)
Here, immediately before the prosecutor’s recital of the factual basis for the plea, the court asked defendant a number of questions about his plea. The court indicated that it had received defendant’s plea form, observed that it included the notation that it was an “Alford Plea,” and asked if he understood what that meant. Defendant responded in the affirmative, and the court explained: “An Alford Plea is a plea you’re making where you deny admitting [sz'c] the facts but you’re agreeing to plead guilty” because the defendant (1) is expecting a favorable recommendation from the prosecution, and (2) believes that if the case were tried, there is a likelihood that he would be convicted. Further, during the court’s voir dire of defendant before accepting his plea, the court referred to what defendant had written on the plea form: “Your statement says that you do not feel that you are guilty but you understand the possibility exists that you would be found guilty by a jury and you prefer to take advantage of the State’s recommendation. Is that a correct statement?” Defendant responded, “Yes, I do [sic].” Immediately after this exchange, defendant entered his plea of guilty, and the prosecutor then recited the alleged facts underlying the conviction.
The circumstances under which the prosecutor recited the alleged facts underlying the Washington offense did not “naturally call for some action or reply” by defendant. (Spencer, supra,
The People rely on People v. Sohal (1997)
The court affirmed the trial court’s finding that the prior conviction was a strike. It reasoned: “[T]he court relied on the factual basis for the plea as stated by the prosecutor with which defense counsel agreed. The factual basis included the fact that defendant personally used a metal pipe. Defendant entered a plea to ‘assault with a deadly weapon’ not assault ‘by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury’ nor simply ‘assault as defined in section 245, subdivision (a)(1).’ Thus, defendant made an adoptive admission of the truth of the facts underlying the plea on the prior.” (Sohal, supra,
Defendant here—in contrast to the defendant in Sohal, who agreed that he had committed an assault with a deadly weapon, a strike—made no admission that he had committed a strike offense. Further, the defendant in Sohal did not enter his plea until after the prosecution recited the underlying factual basis for the offense, thereby furnishing a reasonable basis for the court to infer that his silence in the face of the prosecutor’s statement constituted an adoptive admission. Here, before the prosecutor spoke, defendant entered his
The People’s reliance on Sohal is also undermined by People v. French (2008)
Under these circumstances we conclude that defendant’s failure to deny the prosecutor’s recital of the alleged facts supporting the Washington conviction was not an adoptive admission of those facts. The trial court erred in admitting this evidence over defendant’s hearsay objection.
Defendant contends that his statement, the statement of his counsel, and the statement of the victim could not be considered as evidence in determining whether the Washington conviction constituted a strike. He asserts that since each of these three statements occurred after the court accepted his plea of guilty, none of this evidence may be considered because the evidence was not part of the “record of the conviction” as held in Guerrero, supra,
a. Admissibility of postplea statements
In considering whether a prior conviction constitutes a strike, “the court may look to the entire record of the conviction to determine the substance of the prior foreign conviction . . . .” {Guerrero, supra,
In Reed, supra,
In Trujillo, supra,
The high court noted that People v. Monreal (1997)
In Thoma, supra,
The appellate court considered whether, in light of Guerrero, as explained further in Trujillo, the trial court erred by impliedly finding that the court’s description of the victim’s injuries at the sentencing hearing, in light of the defendant’s silence, was admissible as an adoptive admission. (Thoma, supra,
The holding in Trujillo compels the conclusion here that the postplea statements by defendant, his counsel, and his then wife were inadmissible to prove the strike. As the high court explained in finding inadmissible the defendant’s statements to a probation officer: “The prosecution could not have compelled defendant to testify, and thus could not have used defendant’s subsequent admission that he stabbed the victim to convict him. Once the court accepted his plea, defendant could admit to the probation officer having stabbed the victim without fear of prosecution . . . .” {Trujillo, supra,
The statement by defendant’s counsel was similarly inadmissible. If defendant could not be compelled to testify by the prosecution, certainly he could not be bound by statements made by his attorney concerning the underlying offense which defendant did not expressly adopt.
And under the holding of Trujillo, the unsworn statement by defendant’s then wife was not part of the record of conviction. That statement also
Accordingly, we conclude under the authority of Trujillo, supra,
b. Ineffective assistance claim
Defendant argues that if his claim that the postplea statements were inadmissible because they were not part of “the entire record of the conviction” (Guerrero, supra,
A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel requires a showing (1) of performance that was deficient, and (2) prejudice resulting from such deficient performance. (People v. Weaver (2001)
Evidence Code section 353 requires that in reviewing a judgment or decision in which it is claimed that there was an erroneous admission of evidence, no reversal may occur unless there was a timely and specific objection to the evidence and that its admission brought about a miscarriage of justice.
Here, defendant’s trial counsel objected to all statements in the transcript from the plea and sentencing hearing on hearsay grounds. He argued that defendant’s silence in the face of the victim’s statement did not render the evidence admissible as an adoptive admission. At no point did counsel argue that the postplea statements of defendant, his attorney, and his then wife were inadmissible because they were not part of “the entire record of the conviction” under Guerrero, supra,
We will “ ‘reverse convictions on the ground of inadequate counsel only if the record on appeal affirmatively discloses that counsel had no rational tactical purpose for his act or omission.’ [Citation.]” (People v. Zapien (1993)
Here, we can conceive of no legitimate reason why defendant’s trial counsel would forgo objecting to the postplea statements on the ground that they were not part of “the entire record of the conviction” as required under Guerrero, supra,
We are mindful of the general principle that “[t]he failure to impeach a witness or to object to evidence are matters which usually involve tactical decisions on counsel’s part and seldom establish a counsel’s incompetence.” (People v. Frierson (1979)
For example, in People v. Lopez (2005) 129 Cal.App.4th 1508, 1520 [
This is a clear instance in which the objection had substantial merit; there was no tactical reason for defense counsel’s failure to assert it; and, because the postplea statements were significant in supporting the strike finding, the introduction of the evidence was prejudicial to defendant. Accordingly, we conclude that the failure of defendant’s trial counsel to object to the postplea statements on the ground that they were not part of the “entire record of the conviction” (Guerrero, supra,
4. Conclusion
We have concluded that the court erred in admitting the statement of the prosecutor concerning the alleged facts of the Washington offense, and that the failure of defense counsel to object to the postplea statements of defendant, his attorney, and his then wife on the ground that such evidence was not a part of “the entire record of the conviction” constituted prejudicial ineffective assistance because such evidence, had the proper objection been made, was inadmissible. We therefore must determine whether the record presented in support of the strike allegation, absent the evidence erroneously admitted and the evidence that was not part of “the entire record of the conviction,” was sufficient to support the trial court’s finding that the Washington conviction constituted a strike.
In addressing a sufficiency-of-evidence challenge, “the court must review the whole record in the light most favorable to the judgment below to determine whether it discloses substantial evidence—that is, evidence which
Here, from the admissible evidence presented below, it can be determined only that defendant was convicted of second-degree assault. The circumstances surrounding the conviction do not disclose the necessary elements urged by the People, namely, that in the commission of the offense, “defendant personally inflict[ed] great bodily injury on any person, other than an accomplice,” required for a finding that the crime constituted a “serious felony” under section 1192.7, subdivision (c)(8). Under Guerrero, when the record of the entire conviction “does not disclose any of the facts of the offense actually committed, the court will presume that the prior conviction was for the least offense punishable under the foreign law.” {Guerrero, supra,
Our conclusion that there was insufficient admissible evidence from the record to support the strike finding notwithstanding, retrial of the strike allegation is not precluded. (See People v. Anderson (2009)
DISPOSITION
The judgment is reversed based upon our conclusion that there was insufficient admissible evidence to support the court’s finding that the Washington conviction constituted a serious felony under section 1192.7, subdivision (c)(8). The prosecution, at its election, may retry the strike allegation by presenting additional evidence that is included within “the entire
Rushing, P. J., and Premo, J., concurred.
A petition for a rehearing was denied June 14, 2011.
Notes
Because the current crimes are not germane to defendant’s challenge on appeal, the facts underlying those offenses are presented in abbreviated form and are derived from the preliminary hearing transcript.
All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.
The police report of the incident was included in the exhibit. The prosecution at the hearing conceded that the police report was inadmissible to prove that the Washington conviction constituted a strike.
“As used in this section, ‘serious felony’ means any of the following: H] • • • (8) any felony in which the defendant personally inflicts great bodily injury on any person, other than an accomplice . . . .” (§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(8).)
Although the statute has been amended after 1999 in ways not relevant here, it provides in relevant part: “(1) A person is guilty of assault in the second degree if he or she, under circumstances not amounting to assault in the first degree: [f] (a) Intentionally assaults another and thereby recklessly inflicts substantial bodily harm . . . .” (Wn. Rev. Code § 9A.36.021.)
The statute for first degree assault provides in relevant part as follows: “(1) A person is guilty of assault in the first degree if he or she, with intent to inflict great bodily harm: fiD (a) Assaults another with a firearm or any deadly weapon or by any force or means likely to produce great bodily harm or death; or HQ .. . HD (c) Assaults another and inflicts great bodily harm. . . .” (Wn. Rev. Code § 9A.36.011.) “ ‘Great bodily harm’ means bodily injury which creates a probability of death, or which causes significant serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a significant permanent loss or impairment of the function of any bodily part or organ . . . .” (Wn. Rev. Code § 9A.04.110, subd. (4)(c).)
It is plain that the transcript containing the recital by the Washington prosecutor of the alleged facts supporting the second degree assault charge was offered for the truth of the matters therein asserted and was therefore hearsay. The People have abandoned the meritless argument made below that the statement was not hearsay by not raising it here.
It is possible to read Sohal as holding that there was sufficient proof of the strike simply from the defendant’s admission that he was “ ‘guilty’ ” of committing an assault with a deadly weapon (Sohal, supra,
“A verdict or finding shall not be set aside, nor shall the judgment or decision based thereon be reversed, by reason of the erroneous admission of evidence unless: [j[] (a) There appears of record an objection to or a motion to exclude or to strike the evidence that was timely made and so stated as to make clear the specific ground of the objection or motion; and HQ (b) The court which passes upon the effect of the error or errors is of the opinion that the