Scoggins
Scoggins v. Superior Court
Opinion
Opinion
Compton, J.
John R. Scoggins, who is the petitioner in this case, appeals from a judgment of the superior court denying his petition for a writ of mandate.
Because these proceedings arise from a criminal prosecution in which Scoggins is a defendant we will for the sake of clarity refer to him as defendant. The respondent People of the State of California are represented by the City Attorney of the City of Los Angeles.
In February of 1975, defendant was charged with violating Vehicle Code section 23102, subdivision (a) (driving under the influence of alcohol). The complaint alleged that defendant had suffered a prior conviction of the same offense in June of 1974. The effect of the prior conviction, if proved, is to aggravate the punishment in the event defendant is convicted of the present offense by imposition of a mandatory term in jail and a suspension of driving privileges.
Apparently at this writing which is almost two years from the time of the filing of the instant complaint, defendant has not yet been tried. This delay understandably has been occasioned by defendant’s efforts to invalidate the prior conviction. Defendant first moved the trial court in November of 1975 and…