[Download] "People v. Allen" by California Supreme Court " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: People v. Allen
- Author : California Supreme Court
- Release Date : January 19, 1999
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 74 KB
Description
We held in People v. Sumstine (1984) 36 Cal.3d 909 (Sumstine) that a criminal defendant, charged with having suffered a prior felony conviction, may move in the trial court to strike the alleged prior conviction on the ground the trial court in the prior proceeding failed to comply with the defendants Boykin-Tahl rights. (Boykin v. Alabama (1969) 395 U.S. 238 (Boykin); In re Tahl (1969) 1 Cal.3d 122 (Tahl).) Ten years after Sumstine, the United States Supreme Court held the federal Constitution does not authorize a criminal defendant to move in the trial court to strike an alleged prior state felony conviction unless he or she was denied the right to counsel in the prior proceeding. (Custis v. United States (1994) 511 U.S. 485 (Custis).) We granted review in this case to address a division in our Courts of Appeal regarding whether, as a result of Custis and subsequent decisions, we should overrule Sumstine, supra. As we explain below, although we find Sumstine survives Custis, the motion to strike procedure is available to challenge only those prior felony convictions suffered after we decided Tahl. Because defendants prior felony conviction occurred a few months before we decided Tahl, we conclude the trial court correctly, albeit for the wrong reason, ruled defendant could not challenge his prior conviction.