Court Opinion

ID: 9633624
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 11:54:44.870408+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:55:19.191873
License: Public Domain

*357BROUSSARD, J., Dissenting
The majority opinion is a result searching in vain for a plausible reason. It expressly overrules People v. Alfaro (1986) 42 Cal.3d 627 [230 Cal.Rptr. 129, 724 P.2d 1154], a case decided only 14 months ago. The reason it gives for this radical departure from stare decisis is that Alfaro is arguably inconsistent with two 41-year-old habeas corpus decisions, In re McVickers (1946) 29 Cal.2d 264 [176 P.2d 40] and In re Seeley (1946) 29 Cal.2d 294 [176 P.2d 24].1 Neither of those decisions concerned Penal Code sections 667 or 1192.7, the statutes construed in Alfaro, or similar statutory language. Neither considered any contention that the probative force of the prior conviction should be limited to its adjudicated elements. Consequently, when we decided Alfaro, we did not rely upon McVickers or Seeley as precedential support. (See Alfaro, supra, 42 Cal.2d 627, 634, fn. 5. )
Instead, Alfaro was based squarely on two more recent, and far more pertinent, decisions of this court, People v. Crowson (1983) 33 Cal.3d 623 [190 Cal.Rptr. 165, 660 P.2d 389] and People v. Jackson (1985) 37 Cal.3d 826 [210 Cal.Rptr. 623, 694 P.2d 736]. Nothing in the majority opinion repudiates the holding or reasoning in those cases. The holding in Alfaro, however, follows as a matter of logical necessity from Crowson and Jackson.
The question in Crowson, supra, 33 Cal.3d 623, was whether defendant was subject to a one-year enhancement because of a prior federal conviction. Penal Code section 667 specified that for enhancement purposes, a “prior conviction of a particular felony shall include a conviction in another jurisdiction for an offense which includes all of the elements of the particular felony as defined under California law. . . .”2 Construing this section, we quoted In re Finley, supra, 68 Cal.2d 389, 393, which said that the parties could not go behind the adjudicated elements of the prior crime. We then turned to a contention by the People which is logically identical to *358their argument in the present case. They contended that “even if the propriety of enhancement would ordinarily be controlled by a comparison of the elements of the federal and California offenses, the elements of the federal offense should not be decisive in this case because the indictment to which defendant pleaded guilty specifically alleged two overt acts in support of the conspiracy charge.” (People v. Crowson, supra, 33 Cal.3d 623, 634.)
We replied: “[I]f, as we have concluded, proof of an overt act was not a required element of the federal offense, the allegations to which the People refer were entirely immaterial surplusage, and defendant would have had no reason or incentive to contest them in the federal proceeding. In general, the doctrine of collateral estoppel regards as conclusively determined only those issues actually and necessarily litigated in the prior proceeding [citations] and the United States Supreme Court has noted that a guilty plea is simply an admission of ‘all the elements of a formal criminal charge.’ (McCarthy v. United States (1969) 394 U.S. 459, 466 [22 L.Ed.2d 418, 425, 89 S.Ct. 1166].) If proof of an overt act was not required to sustain a conviction under the federal statute, neither a guilty verdict after a jury trial nor a plea of guilty may accurately be viewed as establishing that such an act occurred, regardless of the allegations of the charging pleading. As the New York Court of Appeals explained in a related context: ‘The application of [a statute increasing punishment on the basis of a prior foreign conviction] cannot be made to turn on the expansiveness of the prosecutor who prepared and drafted the indictment in the other State. One prosecutor may content himself with pleading only essential allegations, while another may choose to include immaterial and surplus recitals. Liberty—even of habitual malefactors—is too important to depend upon the drafting technique or the pleading preference of a particular official.’ (People v. Olah (1949) 300 N.Y. 96 [89 N.E.2d 329, 332, 19 A.L.R.2d 219]. . . .)” (Ibid.)
People v. Jackson, supra, 37 Cal.3d 826, summarized the Crowson decision, concluding that it established two propositions relevant to the interpretation of Penal Code sections 667 and 1192.7: “(1) that proof of a prior conviction establishes only the minimum elements of the crime, even if the charging pleading contained additional, superfluous allegations; and (2) that the prosecution cannot go behind the record of the conviction and relitigate the circumstances of the offense to prove some fact which was not an element of the crime.” (P. 834.) We discussed how these propositions would apply to a conviction for second degree burglary rendered at a time when residential entry was not an element of the crime. In such a case, we observed, “proof of the residential character of the burglary encounters obstacles. The record of a conviction for second degree burglary would not prove entry into a residence, even if the pleadings included superfluous allegations to that effect. [Citing Crowson.] Moreover, the People could not *359go behind that record to prove a fact which was not then an element of the crime. ... A contrary holding, permitting the People to litigate the circumstances of a crime committed years in the past, would raise serious problems akin to double jeopardy and denial of speedy trial.” (P. 836.)
Thus when Alfaro, supra, 42 Cal.3d 627, reached this court, the case was controlled by the language of prior decisions. Alfaro had pled guilty in 1974 to “burglary of a residence.” Residential entry at that time was not an element of the crime, and under the law then in effect the plea was equivalent to a simple plea of guilty to “burglary.” Consequently, under the reasoning of Crowson, supra, 33 Cal.3d 623, and Jackson, supra, 37 Cal.3d 826, defendant’s plea and conviction established only those matters which were adjudicated in the prior proceedings—that he had committed burglary—and those matters were insufficient to justify an enhancement under section 667.
The Attorney General in Alfaro acknowledged the burden on the courts and the potential unfairness to the defendant if we were to permit the prosecution to prove residence by evidence extrinsic to the prior record. (People v. Alfaro, supra, 42 Cal.3d 627, 635.) He suggested, however, that we should permit proof limited to that record. We rejected that argument, noting that “such evidence from the court records would often be inconclusive or unsatisfactory, and since it is not binding under the doctrine of collateral estoppel, defendant could not be barred from presenting other evidence to controvert the prosecution’s evidence. Perhaps the strongest case for going beyond the Crowson limitations is one ... in which the judgment incorporated by reference the residential allegations of the complaint, but even in that case one cannot place confidence in a finding of ‘guilty as charged’ when the charge included an allegation of residency the prosecution had no need to prove, defendant no incentive to contest, and the trier of fact no duty to decide.” (Ibid., fn. omitted.)3
The majority now endorse the suggestion we rejected in Alfaro without even mentioning the reasons why we then rejected it. They adopt a new rule under which the court can look to the entire record to determine the truth of an enhancement allegation—but no further. (Ante, p. 355.) The majority assert, however, that they are not “called upon” to explain how the new rule applies to the case before them or to any other pending case. (Ante, p. 356, fn. 1.) But surely we are called upon to decide the case at bar. Is there competent evidence in this record to show that defendant burglarized a residence? Is the majority proposing to permit a finding to be based upon *360the hearsay charges of a criminal complaint, or upon a plea of guilty which at the time entered did not admit superfluous allegations of residency? Will they permit a defendant to introduce new evidence in rebuttal? We have to consider not only this case, but also a number of others which have been held pending disposition of Guerrero, and we ought to provide some guidance on how they should be decided.
If, as I maintain, in this and similar cases there is no competent evidence of residential burglary in the record, then the majority’s new rule yields the same result as the Alfaro rule. We should forthrightly declare that result and affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal striking the enhancements, thus avoiding unnecessary further proceedings and providing guidance to lower courts for similar cases.
The record in the present case, so far as it pertains to the enhancements, is only eight pages. It reveals that in 1978 and 1981 defendant was charged with entering a residence to commit theft, and pled guilty. He was convicted of second degree burglary. Residential entry was not an element of that crime.
The fact that the information asserted that defendant entered a residence is in itself hearsay; it is admissible only insofar as it explains defendant’s plea. (See 1 Witkin, Cal. Evidence (3d ed. 1986) Hearsay, § 686.) That plea, however, admitted only the elements of the charged crime. (See People v. Thomas (1986) 41 Cal.3d 837, 844, fn. 6 [226 Cal.Rptr. 107, 718 P.2d 94]; People v. Crowson, supra, 33 Cal.3d 623, 634; People v. Jones (1959) 52 Cal.2d 636, 651 [343 P.2d 577].) It does not admit allegations which do not constitute elements of the crime. Defendant’s convictions established only those elements necessarily adjudicated. (People v. Crowson, supra, 33 Cal.3d 623, 634.) Thus the record before us contains no competent evidence that defendant committed burglary of a residence. It shows only that the prosecutor on each occasion claimed the defendant entered a residence, that defendant entered a plea which did not necessarily admit that claim, and the court entered a judgment which did not adjudicate the claim. It is pointless to remand this case to the Court of Appeal; since there is no competent evidence in the record to show defendant was convicted of residential burglary, we should affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal striking the enhancements.
Occasionally we may encounter a case in which there is evidence in the record that a defendant entered a residence. That evidence would thus not be binding on defendant or upon the trier of fact, but instead subject,to dispute and refutation. I do not see how, as a matter of due process, defendant could be denied the right to present evidence to explain or contradict *361the prosecution evidence. And if he did present such evidence, surely the prosecution could call the victim to dispute it. In short, whenever there is inconclusive evidence in the record to show residential burglary, the hearing cannot be limited to examination of that evidence, but potentially entails retrial of the circumstances of the prior burglary. Thus the majority’s dilemma: if there is no competent evidence in the record, their rule produces the same result as the Alfaro rule; if there is such evidence, they cannot achieve their stated goal of avoiding relitigation of the circumstances of past crimes.
In conclusion, we should not reconsider the issue decided so recently in Alfaro, supra, 42 Cal.3d 627. There are no new arguments, no intervening precedents, to justify reconsideration of a matter heard, discussed, and decided by this court so recently. No one has changed his mind. The different result today is solely attributable to a change in the membership of this court, an insufficient reason to justify a departure from precedent. The reconsideration of past decisions under these circumstances is not a proper use of the limited time and resources of this court.
There is, moreover, no compelling need to readdress the matter. The present decision applies only to convictions antedating the enacting of section 667 in 1982, since after that date allegations of residential entry are not surplusage. (People v. Jackson, supra, 37 Cal.3d 826, 835.) In most of those cases, the record will contain no competent evidence of residential entry, so the result will be the same as that dictated by Alfaro, supra, 42 Cal.3d 627. At most, the majority’s decision will permit the prosecutor in an occasional case to relitigate the circumstances of a long-past nonviolent crime in order to subject a defendant to an additional five years imprisonment. This dubious benefit is not worth the harm done to our judicial system when a precedent only one year old is overruled on grounds totally lacking in credibility.
Appellant’s petition for a rehearing was denied March 24, 1988, Kaufman, J., did not participate therein.

The majority also cite In re Finley (1968) 68 Cal.2d 389 [66 Cal.Rptr. 733, 438 P.2d 381], but that decision does not support their result. The Finley court said “the McVickers-Seeley lines of cases holds . . . that unless the record before the habeas corpus court establishes the adjudicated elements of the previous offense, the court will assume that the prior conviction was for the least offense punishable under the foreign statute.” (P. 391, italics added.) “Neither the People nor the defendant can go behind those adjudicated elements in an attempt to show that he committed a greater, lesser, or different offense.” (P. 393, italics added.) This is precisely the holding in Alfaro—that proof is limited to those matters which were adjudicated in the prior proceeding. The purpose of the majority opinion is to permit the People to go behind the adjudicated elements and use the prior record to prove factual issues which were not adjudicated in that proceeding.

Penal Code section 667, the statute at issue in Jackson, supra, 37 Cal.3d 826. Alfaro, supra, 42 Cal.3d 626, and the present case, applies to a person “who previously has been convicted of a serious felony in this state or of any offense committed in another jurisdiction which includes all of the elements of any serious felony. . . .” I see no material difference between this language and the language construed in Crowson, supra, 33 Cal.3d 623.

 A footnote inquired: “What would be the effect, for example, of a jury verdict finding defendant guilty as charged, when the charge included a residential allegation but the jury was not instructed on entry into a residence?” (Ibid, at fn. 6.) The question remains unanswered.