Court Opinion

ID: 9593698
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:24:07.164174+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:52:34.877050
License: Public Domain

BROUSSARD, J.
I dissent.
The majority recognize, as they must, that an accusatory pleading charges only the offense pleaded and necessarily included offenses, that battery with serious bodily injury was neither charged nor a lesser included offense of those expressly charged, and that to convict a defendant of an uncharged offense constitutes a denial of due process unless the defendant has consented or waived the error. (Maj. opn. at pp. 972-974.)
I do not agree with the majority that consent or waiver may be found where defendant did not object to the battery instructions or to the verdict forms involving battery. The majority’s finding of consent and waiver on the basis of lack of objection by the defendant is contrary to settled constitutional principles and flies in the face of the governing statute. The state does not, by falsely overcharging the defendant, obtain the right to browse through the Penal Code seeking to find new lesser offenses to spring on the defendant after the evidence is in with the hope that defendant will not notice the addition of the new offense. Moreover, the practical response to the majority’s consent-and-waiver theory will impede the efficient administration of justice.
Our criminal procedure establishes an accusatory system, not an investigatory one. “Due process of law requires that an accused be advised of the charges against him in order that he may have a reasonable opportunity to prepare and present his defense. . . . (In re Oliver [1948] 333 U.S. 257, 273 *979[92 L.Ed. 682, 694, 68 S.Ct. 499]; Cooke v. United States [1924] 267 U.S. 517, 536-537 [69 L.Ed. 767, 774, 45 S.Ct. 390]; In re Digiuro [1950] 100 Cal.App.2d 260, 261 [223 P.2d 263]; see also People v. Robinson [1930] 107 Cal.App. 211, 217 [290 P. 470].)” (In re Hess (1955) 45 Cal.2d 171, 175 [288 P.2d 5]; In re Robert G. (1982) 31 Cal.3d 437, 440-441 [182 Cal.Rptr. 644, 644 P.2d 837]; People v. Lohbauer (1981) 29 Cal.3d 364, 368 [173 Cal.Rptr. 453, 627 P.2d 183]; People v. West (1970) 3 Cal.3d 595, 612 [91 Cal.Rptr. 385, 477 P.2d 409].) No principle of procedural due process is more clearly established than that notice of the specific charge and a fair opportunity to be heard are among the constitutional rights of every accused. (People v. Thomas (1987) 43 Cal.3d 818, 823 [239 Cal.Rptr. 307, 740 P.2d 419].)
Convictions of lesser uncharged crimes have been reversed or vacated where the conviction followed trial by the court (e.g., People v. Lohbauer, supra, 29 Cal.3d 364, 368 et seq.) or by jury (In re Hess, supra, 45 Cal.2d 171, 173 et seq.; People v. Smith (1902) 136 Cal. 207, 209 [68 P. 702]; People v. Arnett (1899) 126 Cal. 680, 681-682 [59 P. 204]; People v. Murat (1873) 45 Cal. 281, 283; People v. Vanard (1856) 6 Cal. 562, 563 [42 Cal.Rptr. 745]; People v. Leech (1965) 232 Cal.App.2d 397, 398 et seq.; People v. Arnarez (1924) 68 Cal.App. 645, 648 et seq. [230 P. 193]; People v. Akens (1914) 25 Cal.App. 373, 375 [143 P. 795]). As the age of these cases indicates, the issue has not arisen frequently in recent years because, as the law of lesser included offenses has become largely settled, trial judges can usually easily determine whether an offense is necessarily included and limit the instructions and verdict forms accordingly.
One exception has been made to the constitutional rule precluding conviction of an uncharged offense. “Since a defendant who requests or acquiesces in conviction of a lesser offense cannot legitimately claim lack of notice, the court has jurisdiction to convict him of that offense.” (People v. West, supra, 3 Cal.3d 595, 612.) Consent and acquiescence may properly be found where defendant pleads guilty or nolo contendré to a lesser but uncharged crime (ibid.), or where he engages in a slow plea by submitting on the transcript of a preliminary hearing which contains unchallenged evidence of guilt of the crime charged as well as of the lesser crime for which he was convicted. (People v. Francis (1969) 71 Cal.2d 66, 74-75 [75 Cal.Rptr. 199, 450 P.2d 591].)
However, the silence of the accused in failing to object to an instruction on the uncharged crime or a verdict form may not be viewed as consent to or acquiescence in conviction of the uncharged crime. First, in none of the numerous cases cited above where appellate courts reversed or set aside convictions of uncharged crimes after jury verdicts does it appear that the defendant objected to the instruction on the uncharged crime or to the *980verdict forms. Since the appellate courts were reversing convictions, it is unreasonable to suggest that the appellate judges would refrain from mentioning the objection if one occurred or that they overlooked the lack of an objection. I would continue to follow those cases. The majority, by holding that failure to object constitutes consent and waiver, is in effect overruling all of those cases.
Second, when we deal with fundamental constitutional rights, the rule is settled that waiver of fundamental constitutional rights may not be presumed from a silent record. (Boykin v. Alabama (1969) 395 U.S. 238, 243-244 [23 L.Ed.2d 274, 279-280, 89 S.Ct. 1709]; In re Tahl (1969) 1 Cal.3d 122, 130-131 [81 Cal.Rptr. 577, 460 P.2d 449].) “Several federal constitutional rights are involved in a waiver that takes place when a plea of guilty is entered in a state criminal trial. First, is the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination. . . . [Citations.] Second, is the right to trial by jury. [Citation.] Third, is the right to confront one’s accusers. [Citation.] We cannot presume a waiver of these three important federal rights from a silent record.” {Ibid.) The right to notice of the specific charge faced in time to prepare the defense is as clearly established and important as the rights involved in Boykin, and we should not presume a waiver of the right to timely notice from a silent record. Defendant is entitled to be arraigned on and to plead to the new charge.
Third, the majority opinion flies in the face of Penal Code section 1259 which provides for appellate court review of any jury instruction “even though no objection was made thereto in the lower court, if the substantial rights of the defendant were affected thereby.” By concluding that the absence of objection to the battery instruction constitutes consent and waiver, the majority is holding that an objection to the instruction is necessary for appellate review, contrary to the express provision of the code.
Fourth, the unfairness of finding consent and waiver from the failure to object is shown by the facts of this case. The judge announced the instructions to be given including in the lengthy list the battery instructions. So far as appears this was the first mention of battery. The arguments began immediately thereafter. The prosecutor did not argue for conviction of battery; her argument merely mentioned battery as an offense included in the charge of attempted murder.
Defense counsel who no doubt prepared his argument prior to the judge’s announcement did not even mention battery once. Defense counsel argued against the attempted murder charge, the attempted voluntary manslaughter instruction and the aggravated assault charge by pointing out that defendant and his half-brother were on excellent terms, that while defendant *981may have been angry, the anger was directed at the girl he had been dating, that the victim, not defendant, initiated the physical confrontation by grabbing defendant from the rear, and that after defendant hit his half-brother they wrestled to the ground. Counsel emphasized that the stabbing occurred during the wrestling and not when defendant returned to the kitchen after his escape and kicked his half-brother.
Defense counsel concluded by arguing that the evidence did not establish intent to kill or intent to inflict great bodily injury. Although the judge instructed on self-defense, counsel did not argue self-defense. The judge’s instruction on battery with great bodily injury, in the light of counsel’s argument or lack thereof, could only have been a bombshell. The instruction on battery with great bodily injury required only that great bodily injury resulted; it did not require a specific intent to inflict great bodily injury.
Thus none of defense counsel’s argument addressed the battery offense, and the unfairness in injecting the battery issue at the last minute after the evidence was in and just before argument commenced is apparent. We can only speculate as to the questions defense counsel may have asked of the witnesses or what he might have argued had he been timely advised of the battery charge. Obviously, defendant was guilty of simple assault because after escaping from the wrestling match he returned and kicked his half-brother. But under the evidence there was room for defense counsel to argue that he was not guilty of any greater crime.
Fifth, I am concerned with the effect of today’s ruling on future practice in our trial courts. It seems to me that after today’s decision, careful defense counsel will as a matter of course be required to object to each instruction that he did not offer and to object to the verdict forms so that the appellate court will not conclude that he consented to the instructions or waived any error. While the majority say that defendant without objecting may obtain review of the instructions (maj. opn. at p. 977), a careful defense counsel cannot take the chance that he will somehow be deemed to have consented to an instruction or to have waived the error. The obvious purpose of Penal Code section 1259 was to prevent the loss of time in trials if defense counsel were required to object individually to each of the instructions.
By equating lack of objection with consent and waiver, the majority seriously impair the efficient administration of justice at a time when our trial courts are stretched to deal with the ever increasing case load.
Affirmance of the conviction in the instant case is not worth the increased burden placed on defense counsel and our trial courts or the infringement of constitutional rights.
*982I would affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Mosk, J., concurred.
Appellant’s petiton for a rehearing was denied March 23, 1989. Mosk, J., and Broussard, J., were of the opinion that the petition should be granted.