P. v. McNeil
In a 2002 jury trial, defendant was convicted of committing a lewd act on a child, 11 year old, B., in 1996. (Pen. Code, 288, subd. (a); count 1.) B. was 17 years old at the time of trial. She testified that, one night when she was staying in defendants house in August 1996, defendant touched her inner thigh several times as she was trying to sleep on a couch. Defendant contends the trial court violated his federal due process rights by admitting evidence of other sexual offenses he committed against three other underage girls, and by instructing the jury it could find this evidence true by a preponderance of the evidence. ( 1108.) He raises these claims to preserve them for federal review, acknowledging that our state Supreme Court rejected an identical due process challenge to section 1108 in People v. Falsetta (1999) 21 Cal.4th 903, 912 through 917 and approved finding prior sexual offense evidence true by a preponderance of the evidence in People v. Reliford (2003) 29 Cal.4th 1007, 1016. Because Court are bound by these decisions (Auto Equity Sales, Inc. v. Superior Court (1962) 57 Cal.2d 450, 455), Court reject defendants claims. Accordingly, Court affirm the judgment.
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