California v. Burton
Annotate this CaseDefendant-appellant Leroy Burton III appealed his conviction on one count of first degree murder. Defendant was charged with the first degree murder of Ja’bari Jones and the personal use of a firearm causing death. The information also alleged that defendant had one prior strike conviction and had served three prior felony prison terms. In the unpublished portion of its opinion, the Court of Appeal rejected: Burton’s contentions that the evidence was insufficient to show that he deliberated and premeditated the killing; that the court erred in its instruction on premeditation and deliberation; and that trial counsel provided constitutionally deficient representation. In the published portion of the opinion, the Court rejected the contention, based on "Morales-Garcia v. Holder," (567 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir. 2009)), that intimate partner battery, in violation of Penal Code section 273.5, was not categorically a crime of moral turpitude. The Court concluded that Burton’s two prior convictions for violation of that statute were properly admitted for impeachment purposes.
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