Hudgins

Defendant was charged by an information and convicted upon a jury trial of a violation of section 502 of the California Vehicle Code. That section makes it unlawful for one under the influence of intoxicating liquor to drive a vehicle upon any highway. This same section of the code provides for increased punishment in the event of a subsequent violation and conviction.

The information also charged that defendant had suffered a prior conviction of this same offense. The charge of a prior conviction conferred jurisdiction on the superior court. This was true by virtue of the provisions of section 1425 of the Penal Code which limit Class B justices courts to the trial of crimes amounting to misdemeanors, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or imprisonment not exceeding six months. Violation of section 502 of the Vehicle Code is only a misdemeanor, but by virtue of the provisions thereof, the punishment imposed, upon a second or subsequent conviction thereunder, may be a fine of $1,000 or imprisonment in the county jail for one year or by both such fine and imprisonment. The provision making possible imprisonment in the county jail for a period in excess of six months placed…