Opinion ID: 2111189
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Admission of Prior Felony Convictions.

Text: In her fifth and sixth assignments of error, Castor contends that the trial court erred in finding her guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm because neither the prior California conviction nor the prior Nebraska conviction relied upon by the State to prove the element of a prior felony conviction was properly admitted. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-1206(1) (Reissue 1995) provides in pertinent part that [a]ny person who possesses any firearm ... and who has previously been convicted of a felony ... commits the offense of possession of a deadly weapon by a felon.... Section 28-1206(2) provides that the felony conviction may have been had in any court in the United States, the several states, territories, or possessions, or the District of Columbia. The information charges Castor with committing this offense between June 1 and November 30, 1996, and alleges two predicate felonies, including a 1968 conviction in California for Grand Theft Of A Person, and a 1969 Nebraska conviction for No Fund Check. Castor does not dispute being in possession of a firearm, but challenges the admission of evidence relating to both predicate felonies. This evidence includes documents showing that Castor, then known as Wilma Lee Brown, was convicted of the crime of felony, to wit, grand theft from person in the Superior Court of California, Kern County, and was sentenced to probation for a period of 5 years, subject to several conditions including that she serve the first 180 days of said probationary period in the Kern County Jail or other adult detention facility as shall be determined by the County Classification Commission. She was advised by the sentencing judge: You are privileged under the law if you successfully complete your probationary period and comply with all the terms and conditions to come back into court at the expiration of your probationary period and have your plea of guilty to the charge withdrawn and have a plea of not guilty substituted and have your case dismissed. Castor first argues that the court records do not establish a final judgment of conviction of a felony under California law because she received a sentence of probation, which under California law allows the retention of all civil rights. In this regard, she relies on the following language from People v. Banks, 53 Cal.2d 370, 386, 348 P.2d 102, 113, 1 Cal.Rptr. 669, 680 (1959): [T]he defendant whose guilt has been established . . . but who has not been sentenced to prison, i.e., where probation has been granted and the proceedings have been suspended without entry of judgment, is subject to no disabilities whatsoever except those specifically declared by some other provision of law or affirmatively prescribed by the court as terms or conditions of probation. The probationer ... still retains his ordinary civil rights, unless the court has restricted them[.] Castor's reliance on Banks is misplaced. In that case, the defendant sought to set aside his conviction for being a felon in possession by arguing he was never convicted of the underlying felony. Regarding the underlying felony conviction, Banks entered a plea of guilty to an offense punishable either as a felony or as a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to probation and completed his term of probation without violation. Although Banks was entitled to have the charge dismissed upon application, he did not do so. The court noted that no judgment in the case had been pronounced, because [a]fter the plea of guilty an order granting probation was entered and there the case rests. Id. at 377, 348 P.2d at 107, 1 Cal.Rptr. at 674. After making the statements upon which Castor relies, the Banks court further stated: [The defendant] does, however, for some specific purposes for administration of the probation law and other laws expressly made applicable to persons so situatedstand convicted of a felony. . . . Here, upon his plea of guilty ... the defendant acquired the statusnot then final, and conditionally subject to expungement but nevertheless existingof a person convicted of a felony. (Emphasis supplied.) Id. at 387, 348 P.2d at 113, 1 Cal.Rptr. at 680. The court went on to note that even full compliance with the terms of his probation did not absolve Banks of his felon status without his taking the additional step of applying to have the charge dismissed pursuant to statute, and thus it found his prior felony conviction was valid and admissible in the felon in possession case. As in Banks, the record in this case does not reflect any action on the part of Castor to set aside her guilty plea based upon satisfactory completion of the terms of her probation. Thus, although just as in Banks there is no actual judgment appearing on the record, once Castor pled guilty, her status under Banks was that of a convicted felon under California law. Castor also contends in her brief that the California court records fail to show a knowing and intelligent waiver of [her] constitutional right to trial, trial by jury, confront[ation of] witnesses ... and presumption of innocence. Brief for appellant at 47, citing Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). The State contends that any argument made by Castor based on Boykin is invalid because her felony conviction occurred in 1968, while Boykin was not decided until 1969. Further, the State argues that even if Boykin were applicable, Castor is barred from now collaterally attacking the validity of the California conviction. We held in State v. Lee, 251 Neb. 661, 558 N.W.2d 571 (1997), that a defendant cannot collaterally attack, on Boykin grounds, a prior conviction that is an element of a subsequent offense. A prior felony conviction is an essential element of the offense of felon in possession of a firearm. State v. Haynes, 192 Neb. 445, 222 N.W.2d 358 (1974). Thus, Castor may not collaterally attack her California conviction in order to prevent its use as a predicate felony under § 28-1206(1). A single prior felony conviction is sufficient to support a conviction under § 28-1206(1). Because we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting Castor's felony conviction in California, we need not reach her argument regarding the admissibility of her prior conviction in Nebraska. Because there is uncontroverted evidence that Castor was a felon in possession of a firearm prior to Brown's death, her conviction on this charge is not affected by the State's nondisclosure of exculpatory evidence and it is therefore affirmed.