Franklin
People v. Franklin
Opinion
Opinion
Dibiaso, J.
We hold that a qualifying prior felony conviction is a strike under the three strikes laws even though the felony is later reduced to a misdemeanor pursuant to Penal Code section 17, subdivision (c).
Statement of the Case
Appellants Shirley Ann Franklin and Sherry Marie Marquez were convicted by jury verdict of two counts of first degree burglary (Pen. Code, §§ 459/460, counts 1 and 2) and four counts of vehicle theft (Veh. Code, § 10851, counts 3 through 6). The jury also found true section 667.9 enhancement allegations appended to counts 1 and 2.
Franklin admitted a special allegation that she had committed the charged offenses while out on felony bail or her own recognizance in a different case (§ 12022.1). After she unsuccessfully moved to dismiss the special allegation in the information that she had suffered a prior serious felony conviction under both versions of the three strikes law (§ 667, subd. (d)(1), § 1170.12, subd. (b)(1), § 1192.7, subd. (c)(26)), Franklin waived her right to a jury trial on this allegation and, in a bifurcated proceeding, the court found she had been convicted in 1986 of the crime of grand theft of a firearm.