People v. Williams

*698 Opinion

Defendant Steven Mark Williams appeals from the judgment of conviction after a jury found him guilty of robbery, five prior “strikes” felony convictions, one of which was based upon a 1992 burglary conviction, two prior serious felony conviction enhancements, one based on the same 1992 burglary conviction, and a bail enhancement. He received a sentence of 37 years to life imprisonment.

On appeal, he raises six claims of error: allowing his wife to be called as a witness, excluding expert psychiatric testimony, incompetence of trial counsel, cumulative error, refusal to strike four prior felony convictions under People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 [ 53 Cal.Rptr.2d 789 , 917 P.2d 628 ] (hereafter Romero), and imposition of cruel or unusual punishment.

Additionally, respondent seeks to concede that the trial court erroneously imposed a five-year term on a prior serious felony conviction enhancement pursuant to Penal Code section 667, subdivision (a), for the 1992 burglary conviction because the jury failed to return a verdict form for the enhancement allegation. We disagree.

In the published portion of the opinion we conclude the jury made a…