Stenback

William Stenback and George Layton appeal from a judgment of the Santa Clara Superior Court denying their petition for a writ of mandamus. Appellants have been separately charged with unrelated violations of Vehicle Code section 23102 (drunk driving); no prior convictions were alleged in either complaint, although each appellant had previously suffered a conviction for drunk driving. Each moved in the municipal court to strike his prior conviction on the ground that it depended on a guilty plea made without counsel, in violation of the United States Constitution. The motions were denied and appellants jointly petitioned the superior court for mandamus directing the municipal court to hear the motions to strike; their cases are not otherwise related. In denying their petition, the superior court upheld the municipal judge’s determination that he had no jurisdiction to determine the validity of prior convictions not charged in the complaints before him. This appeal followed.

Section 23102, subdivision (a), of the Vehicle Code makes a first offense of drunk driving punishable by fine or imprisonment. A person convicted under this section for a second time within seven years is…