Froehlig

[Opinion certified for partial publication. [*] ]

OPINION

NEWSOM, Acting P.J.

After a jury trial, appellant was convicted of unlawfully taking or driving an automobile (Veh. Code, § 10851) and resisting arrest (Pen. Code, § 148). The vehicle in question, a 1965 Volkswagen, was stolen from the front yard of the home of James Love in Santa Rosa on July 3, 1989. Appellant was found in possession of the vehicle when detained by the police the next day. Appellant testified that he bought the Volkswagen from a man named "Jim Love" for $200 at Monte Rio Beach. His testimony was corroborated by John Davis, a friend who was with appellant on the day of the purported purchase. At the time of trial, Davis was in custody in the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco. In cross-examination, Davis admitted that he had been "convicted of a civil commitment."

Appellant's first contention is that the trial court erred by requiring defense witness Davis to testify while dressed in prison clothes. The prejudice resulting from the appearance of Davis in jail clothes was exacerbated, claims appellant, by the trial court's pronouncement to the jury that the witness was "in custody." The net…