People v. Jones

172 Cal. App. 4th 815, 91 Cal. Rptr. 3d 465
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 25, 2009
DocketE045100
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 172 Cal. App. 4th 815 (People v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Jones, 172 Cal. App. 4th 815, 91 Cal. Rptr. 3d 465 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

172 Cal.App.4th 815 (2009)

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
MICHAEL TROY JONES, Defendant and Appellant.

No. E045100.

Court of Appeals of California, Fourth District, Division Two.

March 25, 2009.

*818 Stephen S. Buckley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey J. Koch and Scott Taylor, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

*819 OPINION

RAMIREZ, P. J. —

Defendant and appellant Michael Troy Jones appeals his jury conviction for arson (Pen. Code, § 451, subd. (d))[1] because he believes the trial court made several errors in reaching his total sentence of 16 years in state prison. He contends the trial court failed to properly inform him of the direct consequences of his admission of a prior arson offense. He also argues the trial court violated section 654, the prohibition against the dual use of facts, and his federal constitutional right to a jury trial.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In a first amended information, defendant was charged with arson of property of another. (§ 451, subd. (d).) It was further alleged defendant had a prior conviction for arson (§ 451, subd. (c)) within the meaning of section 451.1, which also qualified as a prior strike (§§ 1170.12, subds. (a)—(d), 667, subds. (b)—(i)), and a prior serious felony (§ 667, subd. (a)). Before trial, defendant admitted the truth of the prior arson allegations.

Evidence presented at trial indicated defendant was seen leaning and reaching inside a stolen, abandoned truck by a passing motorist. As defendant ran from the truck, the motorist saw smoke and flames coming from inside the vehicle, so he used his cell phone to dial 911. A responding police officer searched defendant after finding him inside a nearby building and found paper and matches in his pockets. An arson expert testified the fire started in the interior driver seat of the vehicle as a result of a combustible open flame device, such as a match or lighter. Defendant testified in his own defense and denied setting the fire. During his trial testimony, defendant once again admitted he had a prior conviction for arson after setting fire to a pile of "girlie books" inside an old, abandoned gas station.

The trial court sentenced defendant to a total of 16 years in state prison. To reach the total term of 16 years, the trial court imposed the upper term of three years for the new arson conviction and doubled it to six years because of the prior strike. The court then added a consecutive term of five years under section 451, subdivision (a), based on defendant's prior arson conviction, and another five-year consecutive term because the prior arson conviction qualified as a serious felony.

*820 DISCUSSION

Defendant's Admission of the Prior Conviction Allegations

Defendant contends his sentence should be vacated because the trial court failed to advise him of the direct consequences of admitting his prior arson conviction. Defendant claims these consequences included an increase in the sentence under section 451, subdivision (c), doubling of the base term of his offense under the "Three Strikes" law, and the addition of a five-year term because the prior arson conviction qualified as a serious felony.

(1) "A defendant who admits a prior criminal conviction must first be advised of the increased sentence that might be imposed. [Citations.] However, unlike the admonition required for a waiver of constitutional rights, advisement of the penal consequences of admitting a prior conviction is not constitutionally mandated. Rather, it is a judicially declared rule of criminal procedure. [Citations.] Consequently, when the only error is a failure to advise of the penal consequences, the error is waived if not raised at or before sentencing." (People v. Wrice (1995) 38 Cal.App.4th 767, 770-771 [45 Cal.Rptr.2d 193].)

Here, the transcript of the hearing held October 16, 2007, when defendant admitted his prior arson conviction, confirms the court did not specifically advise defendant of the direct consequences of his admission.[2] The record also indicates defendant's counsel did not object on this ground at or before the time of sentencing. Accordingly, defendant waived this claim, because he did not raise it at or before the time of sentencing.[3]

*821 Failure to Consider Additional Mitigating Factors

Defendant complains the trial court imposed aggravated terms without considering a number of mitigating factors that were available in the court's records, such as his addiction to drugs and his history of severe mental disorder. However, there is nothing to indicate these factors were presented to the court at the time of sentencing in the form of a sentencing memorandum filed by defendant's counsel or during oral argument. Nor did defendant's counsel object during the sentencing hearing based on any failure by the trial court to consider these or any other mitigating factors. As a result, defendant has waived this claim, because he did not object on this basis at the time of sentencing. (People v. Kelley (1997) 52 Cal.App.4th 568, 581-582 [60 Cal.Rptr.2d 653].)

Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

To the extent we consider any of his counsel's objections insufficient to preserve the issues he has raised on appeal, defendant argues he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Based on the preceding discussion, defendant's claims are that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because (1) his attorney did not object when the trial court failed to advise him of the direct consequences of admitting his prior arson conviction, and (2) his attorney did not object when the court imposed aggravated prison terms without considering additional mitigating factors available in the record.

(2) A cognizable claim of ineffective assistance of counsel requires a showing "counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the `counsel' guaranteed . . . by the Sixth Amendment." (Strickland v. Washington (1984) 466 U.S. 668, 687 [80 L.Ed.2d 674, 104 S.Ct. 2052].) "[T]he performance inquiry must be whether counsel's assistance was reasonable considering all the circumstances." (Id. at p. 688.) To prevail on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, a defendant must also establish counsel's performance prejudiced his defense. (Id. at p. 687.) To establish prejudice, a defendant must demonstrate "there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome." (Id. at p. 694.) Because a defendant must prove both elements of the Strickland test in order to prevail, courts may reject an ineffective assistance of counsel claim if it finds counsel's performance was reasonable or the claimed error was not prejudicial. (Id. at p. 687.) "Because we accord great deference to trial counsel's tactical decisions, counsel's failure to object rarely provides a basis for finding incompetence of counsel." (People v. Lewis (2001) 25 Cal.4th 610, 661 [106 Cal.Rptr.2d 629, 22 P.3d 392

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Jones
178 Cal. App. 4th 853 (California Court of Appeal, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
172 Cal. App. 4th 815, 91 Cal. Rptr. 3d 465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-jones-calctapp-2009.