P. v. Wright
A jury convicted Jerry Louis Wright of the lesser included offense of misdemeanor assault (Pen. Code,[1] §§ 240/241, subd. (a); count 1) and battery with serious bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d); count 2). It found true allegations that he inflicted great bodily injury on count 2 (§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)). The jury acquitted Wright of the greater offense of felony assault in count 1 and making criminal threats in count 3. As to count 2, the jury found not true allegations that he personally used a metal rod as a deadly weapon. In a bifurcated proceeding, Wright admitted, among other prior convictions, he had suffered one serious felony and strike prior conviction (§§ 667, subd. (a)(1), 1170.12) that occurred in 1988. After granting Wright's motion to dismiss his strike prior conviction, the trial court sentenced Wright to 7 years in state prison, consisting of a two-year lower term on count 2, a concurrent six-month term on the count 1 misdemeanor, and five years for a serious felony prior. It ordered him to pay restitution fines and various fees.
Wright contends cumulative errors denied him his constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial. Specifically, he argues he was prejudiced by the trial court's error in admitting his previously excluded prior 1988 robbery conviction for the purpose of permitting the prosecution to impeach certain trial testimony and the prosecutor's subsequent misconduct in attempting to elicit irrelevant underlying facts concerning the robbery prior, and arguing to the jury that Wright responded in a deceptive manner when cross-examined about that prior conviction. We affirm the judgment.
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