P. v. Broadus
In a second trial held after the first ended in a mistrial, a jury convicted defendant of willfully failing to appear in court, while charged with a felony and released from custody on bail and driving in a willful or wanton disregard for safety of persons or property while fleeing from a pursuing police officer. Before the second trial, Broadus pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving a motor vehicle while his driver’s license was suspended or revoked. During the second trial, Broadus admitted he suffered a prior conviction for a serious or violent felony. At sentencing, the trial court denied Broadus’s motion to strike his prior conviction and sentenced him to a total prison term of seven years, four months. On appeal, defendant contends his conviction for felony evading must be reversed because Vehicle Code section 2800.2 contains an unconstitutional mandatory presumption and the trial court’s failure to give a unanimity instruction violated federal law. Defendant also contends the trial court abused its discretion when it allowed the prosecutor to impeach him with his prior conviction for voluntary manslaughter and the trial court failed to conduct an adequate inquiry into juror misconduct. Court disagreed with defendant’s contentions and affirmed the judgment.
Comments on P. v. Broadus