People v. Thompson

61 Cal. App. 4th 1269, 76 Cal. Rptr. 2d 267
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 10, 1998
DocketC024734
StatusPublished

This text of 61 Cal. App. 4th 1269 (People v. Thompson) 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. Thompson, 61 Cal. App. 4th 1269, 76 Cal. Rptr. 2d 267 (Cal. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

61 Cal.App.4th 1269 (1998)

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
CLIFFORD BRADLEY THOMPSON, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. C024734.

Court of Appeals of California, Third District.

February 10, 1998.

*1271 COUNSEL

Linda A. Leavitt, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Assistant Attorney General, Roger E. Venturi and Maureen A. Daly, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

[Opinion certified for partial publication.[†]]

OPINION

RAYE, J.

Defendant Clifford Bradley Thompson, using various aliases, applied for and obtained employment at several group homes for children. As part of the application process, defendant stated under penalty of perjury he had no prior criminal convictions. In fact, defendant had five felony convictions and three misdemeanor convictions. A jury found defendant guilty of six counts of perjury. (Pen. Code, § 118, subd. (a).) After finding two prior prison term allegations true (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (d)) the court sentenced defendant to eleven years and imposed a restitution fine of $4,400 (Pen. Code, §§ 1202.4 and 1202.45). On appeal defendant contends: (1) the court erred in denying defendant's motion to suppress, since evidence admitted at trial was the fruit of an illegal search; (2) the increase in defendant's sentence after retrial violates due process and the prohibition against double jeopardy; (3) the court improperly allowed amendment of the information after defendant waived his right to a jury trial; (4) the fine imposed must be stricken under the ex post facto doctrine; (5) the court erred in permitting the conditional examination of a witness; and (6) several exhibits were inadmissible hearsay. In the published portion of this opinion we conclude the increase in defendant's term of confinement following retrial violates the double jeopardy clause of the California Constitution. We *1272 modify defendant's sentence to reduce the unstayed prison term and direct the trial court to reduce the restitution fine. We reject his remaining contentions in the unpublished portions of this opinion.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Between 1991 and 1993 defendant, using a variety of aliases, applied for employment at five group homes for children. On each employment application, defendant stated, under penalty of perjury, that he had no criminal convictions. In reality, defendant had five felony convictions and three misdemeanor convictions. In each case, the group home employer considered the criminal history information to be crucial and material to employment. Defendant submitted his fingerprints with each application.

Each of the five group homes hired, and eventually fired, defendant. The group homes, with one exception, would not have hired defendant with the knowledge of his use of aliases and prior convictions.

Defendant also filled out an application for a taxi cab permit under an alias. On the application, under penalty of perjury, defendant stated he had never been convicted of a crime. In addition, defendant submitted fingerprints. Ultimately, a taxicab permit was issued to defendant. The permit would not have been issued had authorities known defendant used a false name and had five felony and three misdemeanor convictions.

Information regarding defendant's misrepresentations came to the attention of authorities after defendant's landlord contacted police. The landlord claimed defendant had burglarized his residence. When the police responded, the landlord reported defendant assaulted him after he complained to defendant about nocturnal visits from teenage boys who climbed through defendant's window.

The police arrested defendant and, without a warrant, searched his apartment. The search yielded pictures of children engaged in sexual activity, false birth certificates, and other information. Following the search, police contacted the Department of Social Services who conducted an investigation and obtained falsified employment applications at various group homes.

An information charged defendant with two counts of lewd conduct with a minor under fourteen years of age (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)) and six counts of perjury (Pen. Code, § 118, subd. (a)). Two prior prison terms were alleged under Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (d). The trial court bifurcated the child molestation counts from the perjury counts.

*1273 A jury trial followed. The jury convicted defendant of six perjury counts. The prosecution dismissed the second prior conviction in the interests of justice. The court found the other prior prison term allegation true.

The court sentenced defendant to 10 years for the 6 perjury convictions and the prior prison term. We reversed defendant's conviction following his first trial in People v. Thompson (1996) 43 Cal. App.4th 1265 [51 Cal. Rptr.2d 334]. In the unpublished portion of the opinion we reversed the convictions for the six counts of perjury due to instructional error. In the published portion of the decision we determined an issue of standing.

On remand, following an evidentiary hearing, the court denied defendant's motion under Penal Code section 1538.5 to suppress evidence. A second jury trial followed.

At trial, a Sacramento sheriff compared defendant's fingerprints to the fingerprints submitted by defendant with each application. The officer found the fingerprints matched.

A senior special investigator for the California Department of Developmental Services testified regarding the investigation of licensing violations by defendant. According to the investigator, defendant made no requests for exceptions to licensing requirements.

The second jury found defendant guilty of six counts of perjury. Defendant waived his right to a jury trial as to the two prior prison terms.

The court allowed amendment of the information as to one of the charged priors. The court found the two prior prison term allegations to be true.

The court sentenced defendant to 11 years and imposed restitution fines under Penal Code sections 1202.4 and 1202.45. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal.

DISCUSSION

I. Motion to Suppress[*]

.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .

II. Double Jeopardy

Defendant argues the increase in his sentence after retrial violates the constitutional guarantee against double jeopardy.

*1274 A. Factual Background

The original information charged defendant with two prior prison terms, a 1985 perjury conviction and a 1984 nonsufficient funds conviction. After the jury convicted defendant of the six perjury counts during the first trial, defendant waived jury trial on the prior prison term allegations. The court granted the prosecution's motion to dismiss one of the prior prison terms. The court sentenced defendant to ten years: nine years on the perjury counts, plus one year for the prior prison term enhancement. The court also imposed a $2,000 restitution fine pursuant to former Government Code section 13967.[5]

We reversed the judgment based on instructional error. (People v. Thompson, supra, 43 Cal. App.4th 1265, 1267.) The matter was remanded for retrial. Defendant entered a plea of not guilty to the original information which contained the two prior prison term allegations.

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Bluebook (online)
61 Cal. App. 4th 1269, 76 Cal. Rptr. 2d 267, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-thompson-calctapp-1998.