Opinion ID: 1388611
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Impeachment with prior burglary conviction.

Text: Defendant moved in limine to exclude three prior felonies for purposes of impeachment. The trial court excluded a 1977 assault and admitted a 1974 burglary. The court reserved judgment on whether the 1981 Pacoima robbery conviction could be used for impeachment and ordered the prosecution not to mention it until a final ruling was made. Defendant testified, and his own counsel elicited the 1974 burglary for defensive purposes. The prosecutor briefly cross-examined defendant about the burglary but did not refer to the 1981 robbery. [18] (21) Defendant contends the trial court never exercised its discretion to exclude the 1974 burglary under Evidence Code section 352 because the court erroneously believed that prior felony convictions suggesting dishonesty must be admitted without limitation under a then-recent constitutional amendment added by Proposition 8. (Cal. Const., art. I, § 28, subd. (f) (hereafter article I, section 28(f)), added by initiative, Prop. 8, Primary Elec. (June 8, 1982), commonly known as the Victims' Bill of Rights.) [19] The claim lacks merit. Because defendant's charged crimes occurred before the effective date of Proposition 8, the court was mistaken in its expressed belief that article I, section 28(f) applied. (See People v. Smith (1983) 34 Cal.3d 251, 257-263 [193 Cal. Rptr. 692, 667 P.2d 149].) However, the court also indicated it would exercise its discretion under pre-Proposition 8 authority to allow impeachment with the 1974 burglary. (E.g., People v. Rist (1976) 16 Cal.3d 211, 218-219 [127 Cal. Rptr. 457, 545 P.2d 833]; People v. Beagle (1972) 6 Cal.3d 441, 453-454 [99 Cal. Rptr. 313, 492 P.2d 1].) As the court noted, the burglary (which counsel conceded was theft related) bore on honesty, was dissimilar to the charged offenses, and was not unduly remote because defendant had not thereafter led a blameless life. ( Rist, supra, 16 Cal.3d at pp. 218-222; People v. Benton (1979) 100 Cal. App.3d 92, 97 [161 Cal. Rptr. 12].) No error appears.