Court Opinion

ID: 9722454
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 09:32:36.714871+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:35.514404
License: Public Domain

TIMLIN, J.
I concur.
The majority’s conclusion that, in this particular case, there was nothing in the manner in which the magistrate accepted the pleas of guilty to the *682substantive charges, which actually or in effect separated the substantive offenses from the alleged sentence enhancements (enhancements), is correct. In other words, the pleas of guilty and admissions of the enhancements occurred at a single judicial proceeding during which both the pleas and the admissions were simultaneously made by the defendant. Further, People v. Wright (1987) 43 Cal.3d 487 [233 Cal.Rptr. 69, 729 P.2d 260], supports the majority’s conclusion by its comment (at p. 493, fin. 2) that at such a proceeding a defendant is not entitled to a separate advisement of his constitutional rights regarding the enhancements.
I concur reluctantly, however, in the holding that defendant was properly advised of his basic constitutional rights regarding those sentence enhancement allegations which he admitted to be true, and that as to such allegations he expressly waived those rights intelligently, knowingly and voluntarily.
If judges and magistrates follow the lead in the majority opinion, defendants who are admitting enhancements simultaneously with pleas of guilty to substantive charges in the same complaint or information will not be separately advised that, as to each enhancement: (1) They are entitled to at least the three basic constitutional rights (right against self-incrimination, right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses and right to jury trial); and (2) an admission of such operates to waive those rights. They will be further deprived of a judicial determination whether as to each enhancement he/she understands those rights and is knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waiving such by admitting the allegations.
It is my view that each enhancement (if found true) has at least the same punitive effect as each substantive charge in the same information or complaint. That is, if an enhancement is found true, the accused suffers the threat of loss of her/his fundamental right of liberty by imprisonment. Actually, in many instances, the threat is more certain and greater because some sentence enhancements result in mandatory incarceration and a longer sentence than the charges to which they may relate. (In re Yurko (1974) 10 Cal.3d 857, 862 [112 Cal.Rptr. 513, 519 P.2d 561].) These serious consequences demand individual advisements and findings by the judge or magistrate respecting enhancement allegations.
Moreover, the Supreme Court’s footnote 2 in People v. Wright, supra, that separate advisements (and presumably waivers of such rights) need not be made and accepted as to enhancements which are not separated from the charged substantive offenses appears to conflict with the constitutional principles mentioned in In re Yurko, supra, 10 Cal.3d at page 863:
*683“Boykin holds that because of the significant constitutional rights at stake in extracting from an accused a guilty plea a court must exercise the ‘utmost solicitude’ of which it is capable in canvassing the matter with the accused to make sure he has a full understanding of what is being waived. Because of the significant rights at stake in obtaining an admission of the truth of allegations of prior convictions, which rights are often of the same magnitude as in the case of a plea of guilty, courts must exercise a comparable solicitude in extracting an admission of the truth of alleged prior convictions. Although the issue was not before the Supreme Court in Boykin nor before us in Tahl, it is nevertheless manifest that an accused is entitled to be advised of those constitutional rights waived by him in making such an admission. As an accused is entitled to a trial on the factual issues raised by a denial of the allegation of prior convictions, an admission of the truth of the allegation necessitates a waiver of the same constitutional rights as in the case of a plea of guilty. The lack of advice of the waivers so to be made, insofar as the record fails to demonstrate otherwise, compels a determination that the waiver was not knowingly and intelligently made.
“We conclude that Boykin and Tahl require, before a court accepts an accused’s admission that he has suffered prior felony convictions, express and specific admonitions as to the constitutional rights waived by an admission. The accused must be told that an admission of the truth of an allegation of prior convictions waives, as to the finding that he has indeed suffered such convictions, the same constitutional rights waived as to a finding of guilt in case of a guilty plea.” (Italics added, fns. omitted.)
The California Supreme Court may wish to clarify whether its statements in footnote 2 of People v. Wright, supra, are consistent with In re Yurko, supra, and have the meaning as attributed by the majority.
It appears tangentially appropriate at this point to refer to the following statement in People v. Ray (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 943 [269 Cal.Rptr. 682, 686] at page 950, which holds that the failure to advise a defendant that by admitting an alleged prior he gave up his right against self-incrimination was reversible error:
“It may be that Yurko is due for reexamination. Perhaps it should not be presumed that a defendant asked to admit a prior, who has either had a trial on the substantive offense, is shortly to have such a trial or has just pled guilty after full advisement, is so ignorant of his basic trial rights as to render his admission involuntary if additional advisements are not made. It is also possible that for the overwhelming majority of defendants facing an enhancement for prior conviction, the only real concern is the length of time by which the prison term will be increased if the allegation is admitted *684or proved. Perhaps the full advisements mandated by Yurko are only a matter of form for most defendants, and reversal in cases such as the present one a waste of trial court time. Unless and until such questions are reexamined by our high court, however, intellectual honesty requires that we not subvert the clear mandate of Yurko by misapplying the rule of harmless error. At present the problem may be prevented by the trial courts, which should exercise care to ensure that these basic advisements and waivers are fully executed.
“In obedience to a long line of decisions from the federal and state Supreme Courts, we conclude that constitutional Yurko error—the failure to obtain, on the record, knowing waivers of the constitutional trial rights before accepting a defendant’s admission of prior convictions—is per se reversible error.” (Italics added.)
In the meantime, it is suggested that any judge or magistrate who receives an admission of an enhancement at the same time she/he accepts a guilty plea to a substantive charge specifically inform the defendant that he/she is entitled to the same constitutional rights regarding the enhancement as apply to the substantive charge, and that, by admitting such, she/he waives those rights. After such advice, the judicial officer should make findings respecting the defendant’s understanding of such rights and that his/her admission will constitute a waiver of such. Finally, the judge or magistrate should recite further findings that such admission and resulting waiver were made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily by the defendant.
These limited additional procedural steps will not add any substantial burden on a recognizedly overworked criminal trial bench but they will be in accord with the spirit, if not the mandate, of the Boykin-Tahl-Yurko constitutional precepts.
A petition for a rehearing was denied July 16, 1990, and appellant’s petition for review by the Supreme Court was denied September 12, 1990.