Opinion ID: 844218
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Admission of Defendant's Criminal History

Text: The trial court, over defendant's objections, permitted the prosecution to present in its guilt phase case-in-chief evidence concerning defendant's two prior convictions for assault with a firearm, and his being on parole at the time of the shooting of Deputy Blair, including the conditions of defendant's parole prohibiting him from possessing firearms and associating with Young Crowd members. Because the court decided this evidence was to be admitted in the prosecution's case-in-chief, it also ruled there would not be a bifurcated trial regarding the prior-prison-sentence-enhancement allegations. The prosecution proffered the evidence of defendant's prior convictions and parole status to establish defendant's motivethat he shot at Deputies Blair and Lyons in order to avoid being apprehended for possessing two handguns in violation of the law [13] and his parole. Defendant raises five related claims challenging the admission of this evidence at the guilt phase: The trial court erred by (1) admitting evidence of both of defendant's prior felony convictions, rather than, more generally, of his status as a convicted felon; (2) failing to sanitize the prior conviction evidence, and instead permitting the jury to learn that the convictions were for assaults with a firearm; (3) admitting evidence that defendant was on parole when he shot Deputy Blair; (4) admitting evidence regarding the terms of defendant's parole prohibiting him from possessing firearms and associating with Young Crowd members; and (5) admitting prison records concerning his convictions. He contends the trial court's decision to admit the challenged evidence was an abuse of discretion and a violation of his constitutional right to a fair trial. We are not persuaded. Citing various decisions of this court and others, defendant asserts that because the prejudice arising from this challenged evidence was devastating and overwhelmed its probative value, the trial court was obliged to exclude it pursuant to section 352 of the Evidence Code. Although defendant does not precisely identify the asserted prejudicial effect of the evidence, we may presume from the decisions upon which he relies that he believes the evidence was unduly prejudicial because, apart from tending to establish his motive for shooting Deputy Blair, the evidence would have tended to convince the jury that defendant was guilty solely because he had a criminal disposition. (See People v. Thompson (1980) 27 Cal.3d 303, 317 [165 Cal.Rptr. 289, 611 P.2d 883] [As Wigmore notes, admission of [criminal history] evidence produces an `over-strong tendency to believe the defendant guilty of the charge merely because he is a likely person to do such acts.'].) To the contrary, however, the challenged evidence was highly probative on the central issue in the case, and the trial court took appropriate measures to reduce the risk of undue prejudice. (13) Subdivision (a) of [Evidence Code] section 1101 prohibits admission of evidence of a person's character, including evidence of character in the form of specific instances of uncharged misconduct, to prove the conduct of that person on a specified occasion. Subdivision (b) of section 1101 clarifies, however, that this rule does not prohibit admission of evidence of uncharged misconduct when such evidence is relevant to establish some fact other than the person's character or disposition. ( People v. Ewoldt (1994) 7 Cal.4th 380, 393 [27 Cal.Rptr.2d 646, 867 P.2d 757].) Evidence that a defendant committed crimes other than those for which he is on trial is admissible when it is logically, naturally, and by reasonable inference relevant to prove some fact at issue, such as motive, intent, preparation or identity. [Citations.] The trial court judge has the discretion to admit such evidence after weighing the probative value against the prejudicial effect. [Citation.] When reviewing the admission of evidence of other offenses, a court must consider: (1) the materiality of the fact to be proved or disproved, (2) the probative value of the other crime evidence to prove or disprove the fact, and (3) the existence of any rule or policy requiring exclusion even if the evidence is relevant. [Citation.] Because this type of evidence can be so damaging, `[i]f the connection between the uncharged offense and the ultimate fact in dispute is not clear, the evidence should be excluded.' [Citation.] ( People v. Daniels (1991) 52 Cal.3d 815, 856 [277 Cal.Rptr. 122, 802 P.2d 906].) `We review for abuse of discretion a trial court's rulings on relevance and admission or exclusion of evidence under Evidence Code sections 1101 and 352.' [Citation.] ( People v. Davis (2009) 46 Cal.4th 539, 602 [94 Cal.Rptr.3d 322, 208 P.3d 78] ( Davis ).) [14] Under the prosecution's theory of the case, the connection between the challenged evidence and the charges being tried was clear and central to establishing defendant's guilt. The prosecution's theory was that defendant knew, because of his prior convictions and parole status, that it was illegal and a violation of his parole for him to possess firearms (and a separate violation of his parole to associate with Young Crowd members), and he shot at Deputies Blair and Lyons in order to avoid being apprehended and returned to prison. (See People v. Heishman (1988) 45 Cal.3d 147, 168-169 [246 Cal.Rptr. 673, 753 P.2d 629]; People v. Durham (1969) 70 Cal.2d 171, 187-189 [74 Cal.Rptr. 262, 449 P.2d 198].) The circumstance that defendant had suffered two prior felony convictions for assault with a firearm corroborated the prosecution witnesses who would testify that defendant believed not only that he would be returned to prison if he was caught with the handguns, but also that he would be subject to a more lengthy third strike sentence. This evidence also bolstered the prosecution's interpretation of defendant's jailhouse comment to his motherthat if the police had caught him with the guns, it would have been all over for himas another reference to a third strike or a long prison sentence. Contrary to defendant's contention on appeal, it was not an abuse of discretion for the trial court to decline to sanitize the evidence concerning the prior convictions. A reasonable juror could find the circumstance that both convictions were for the same serious offense of assault with a firearm supported the testimony that defendant feared a third strike if he was caught, even though, as defendant testified, he later learned that only one of his convictions constituted a strike under the law. We need not consider the validity of the trial court's particular reason for not sanitizing the prior convictionsthat, in the court's view, it likely would have been even more prejudicial to defendant if the jurors were not informed of the nature of his prior offenses, and instead engaged in speculation on the subject. (See People v. Zapien (1993) 4 Cal.4th 929, 976 [17 Cal.Rptr.2d 122, 846 P.2d 704] [if the trial court's ruling is correct `upon any theory of the law applicable to the case, it must be sustained regardless of the considerations which may have moved the trial court to its conclusion'].) There was no abuse of discretion in admitting the evidence because establishing defendant's strong motive to shoot first at the deputies was critical to the prosecutor's case, and, as discussed post, the trial court took steps to avoid any unduly prejudicial effect on the jury. The prosecutor needed to convince the jury that defendant was the shootera fact the defense had not conceded when the disputed evidence was admittedand also the aggressor to disprove any claims of self-defense. Defendant next contends the evidence concerning his parole status and the conditions of his parole should have been excluded as cumulative at best, because any motive to avoid a third strike completely overshadowed any motive to avoid a parole sanction. Even assuming that defendant is correct in his assessment of the relative weight of these possible motivating factors for his actions, this does not resolve the relevant question: did the trial court act outside the bounds of reason in determining that the probative value of the evidence that defendant (1) was on parole, (2) had been expressly warned by his parole agent he could not possess firearms, and (3) if discovered, would probably be returned to prison, was not substantially outweighed by the risk of undue prejudice if it were admitted? In the same manner that defendant claims his parole status was less compelling evidence of his motive to shoot at the officers, the jury's learning that defendant was on parole also was less likely to result in undue prejudice. But in any event, this evidence nonetheless provided important insight regarding the central issue of the trial by establishing a related, but alternative, motive for defendant to shoot at the officersto avoid being returned to prison for a parole violation. (See People v. Mendoza (2011) 52 Cal.4th 1056, 1070-1071 [132 Cal.Rptr.3d 808, 263 P.3d 1].) This is particularly so in light of the circumstance that only one of his prior convictions actually counted as a strike, and the possibility that defendant was not aware of or concerned with the three strikes law at the time of the shooting, as, in fact, he claimed in his subsequent trial testimony. The trial court also took actions to limit the possible unduly prejudicial effect of the prior crimes and parole status evidence. The court instructed the jury at the commencement of the trial that, unless the court were to instruct the jury otherwise, evidence concerning defendant's prior convictions could be considered only for the limited purposes of establishing defendant's motive and the truth of the prior-prison-sentence-enhancement allegationsin other words, by negative implication, it would be improper for the jury to consider this evidence as establishing defendant's criminal propensity. The court reiterated its instruction on this subject when the parole agent testified concerning the terms of defendant's parole and his prior convictions. (See People v. Cain (1995) 10 Cal.4th 1, 34 [40 Cal.Rptr.2d 481, 892 P.2d 1224] ( Cain ) [the jury is presumed to follow the trial court's instructions].) In addition, defendant was permitted to testify that only one of his convictions actually was a strike. In light of the significant probative value of the challenged evidence and the trial court's efforts to limit the possible undue prejudice, we cannot say the trial court's rulings were an abuse of its discretion. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion under state law in admitting this evidence over defendant's objections, his claim that the admission of this evidence violated his constitutional right to a fair trial, to the extent it is preserved for appeal, also is without merit. ( People v. Riggs (2008) 44 Cal.4th 248, 292 [79 Cal.Rptr.3d 648, 187 P.3d 363] ( Riggs ) [a defendant's failure to raise a distinct constitutional claim at trial forfeits such a claim on appeal, and to the extent the appellate claim was merely a gloss on the objection raised at trial, it is preserved but is without merit because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the evidence].) Defendant also challenges the admission of his prison records because the records included a chronology of his imprisonment and parole, along with notations that, he contends, might have led the jury to infer he had committed numerous violations of prison rules, and that he might have been continued on parole (i.e., released from custody) after he was arrested on the charges in the present case. [15] Defendant contends the trial court should have sanitized the report to remove the notations. Defendant, however, did not object to the contents of the records, or ask the trial court to redact them, and he therefore has forfeited this claim. ( People v. Clark (1992) 3 Cal.4th 41, 125-126 [10 Cal.Rptr.2d 554, 833 P.2d 561] ( Clark ) [In the absence of a timely and specific objection on the ground sought to be urged on appeal, the trial court's rulings on admissibility of evidence will not be reviewed.].) In any event, even if the prison records should have been redacted to remove the notations at issue, any error was harmless under any standard. Defendant merely speculates that the jury might have understood the cryptic notations at issue in the manner he asserts. Moreover, even if the jury had deciphered the meaning of the notations, there is no reasonable probability that the verdict could have been affected by such collateral issues.