People v. Lee

After defendant pled no contest to multiple felonies and admitted a prior felony conviction, he filed a Romero motion in which he asked the sentencing court to dismiss (“strike”) his prior felony conviction under Penal Code section 1385. In support of the motion, defendant argued that the prior conviction occurred nine years earlier, he successfully completed probation for that conviction, and the circumstances of the instant offense warranted leniency. The sentencing court denied the motion, reasoning that the circumstances of the prior and instant offenses did not justify a striking of the prior felony conviction in furtherance of justice.

Defendant appeals the denial of his Romero motion. He contends the court abused its discretion when it predicated its ruling on the circumstances of the prior and instant offenses instead of considering evidence of his “background, character, and prospects,” even though neither he nor the prosecution ever presented such evidence to the court and defendant never asked the court to consider his background, character or prospects. Defendant contends the trial court had an independent obligation to summon evidence of his background,…