P. v. Febrissy
Filed 7/19/06 P. v. Febrissy CA3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT
(Placer)
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| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOCELYN ERNEST FEBRISSY, Defendant and Appellant. | C049033
(Super. Ct. No. 72-002741)
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Acquitting defendant Jocelyn Febrissy on three other counts (torture, forcible rape, and assault with a deadly weapon), the jury convicted him only of the infliction of corporal injury upon a cohabitant, and rejected allegations that he either inflicted great bodily injury or used a deadly or dangerous weapon in the commission of that offense. The court denied the defendant's motion to reduce his conviction to a misdemeanor, suspended imposition of sentence, and placed him on probation (conditioned on a jail term of 270 days).
On appeal, he argues he was entitled to an instruction sua sponte that apparent consent is a defense to his crime. He also contends that his conviction violates his substantive liberty interests under the federal Constitution. Finally, he asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to reduce the conviction to a misdemeanor. We shall affirm.
Facts
Although the parties extensively detail the facts describing the sexual relationship between the defendant and the victim both before the night in issue and the exact events of that evening (as well as facts, intimate and otherwise, about the defendant's relationships with his estranged wife and current girlfriend), we are not concerned with the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction in terms of the absence of consent. It will be adequate for our purposes simply to provide a general summary.
A. The victim's testimony
The victim met the defendant in an African dance class that he offered at her gym in 2003. He piqued her interest, and she accepted an invitation to join a dance troupe he was organizing. By Halloween, the defendant began a dating relationship with her; she felt they had a â€
