People v. Johnson CA4/1

DISCUSSION

Appellant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion without giving him a chance to challenge the constitutionality of his prior convictions. We disagree. As a preliminary matter, we note this is not the first time appellant has presented the claim he makes in this case. In 2014, he filed a Proposition 36 petition in Riverside County Superior Court seeking relief from an indeterminate life term he received there in 2000 for unlawful gun possession. As in the instant case, appellant claimed his 1989 strike convictions were invalid due to Boykin-Tahl error. However, his petition for resentencing was summarily denied, and on appeal division two of our appellate district upheld the denial on the ground Proposition 36 does not allow defendants to collaterally attack their prior strike convictions. (People v. Johnson (Sept. 29, 2014, E060494) [nonpub. opn.].) Although that opinion was not published, and thus has no precedential value, we mention it because it states reasons for a decision affecting

3 the same defendant in another action (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(b)(2)) – and, indeed, involves our facts. It is also worth noting that, irrespective of the…