Delgado

After a jury convicted defendant of felony offenses, a court trial was held on the allegation, for purposes of enhancing his sentence, that he had a prior serious felony conviction. The statute under which defendant was previously convicted—Penal Code section 245, subdivision (a)(1) (section 245(a)(1)) —punishes assault committed either by means “likely to produce great bodily injury” (GBI), or by use of “a deadly weapon . . . other than a firearm.” Only the latter version qualifies as a serious felony.

As sole proof of a prior serious felony conviction, the prosecution introduced a package of certified documents pertaining to the conviction, including the abstract of judgment. The abstract specified the statute violated as “[Penal Code section] 245(A)(1)” and described the crime as “Asslt w DWpn.” The trial court found the prior serious felony allegation true and lengthened defendant’s prison sentence accordingly. The Court of Appeal affirmed.

Defendant does not dispute that the abbreviated verbal notation on the abstract of judgment stands for the words “assault with a deadly weapon.” The notation contains no reference to the GBI prong of section 245(a)(1).…