Hawkins

Defendant Bobbie Lynn Hawkins was convicted of opening or maintaining a place for the purpose of unlawfully selling, giving away, or using crack cocaine and of misdemeanor child endangerment. She argues that the People failed to establish the corpus delicti for the opening-or-maintaining offense by evidence independent of her own extrajudicial statements. She also argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction for that offense, and that the jury was not properly instructed on the elements of the opening-or-maintaining offense.

In this opinion, we discuss the showing required to establish the corpus delicti of the opening-or-maintaining offense and reject defendant’s contention that it was not independently established here. We also hold that the standard jury instruction for this offense, CALJIC No. 12.08, sufficiently explains its elements. Finally, we conclude that the judgment was supported by sufficient evidence.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORIES

Sheriff’s deputies raided defendant’s house. They found defendant in the living room, a relative of defendant’s named Sylvia Allen outside the front door, and a man named Michael Crosby in the basement.…