California v. Wilson
Annotate this CaseWhile intoxicated, defendant Richard Wilson drove his car into a house, severely injuring his passenger, his brother. His brother suffered a concussion, an orbital fracture, a partially collapsed lung, bruising to the lung, and a femur fracture. A jury convicted defendant of driving under the influence, causing injury; driving with a 0.08 percent or higher alcohol level, causing injury; and driving with a suspended license. As to counts one and two, the jury found he had inflicted great bodily injury. The court also found defendant had suffered a prior strike for attempted robbery. At sentencing, defendant objected to the imposition of a Penal Code section 12022.7(a) great bodily injury enhancement. He argued section 1170.1(g) allowed imposition of only the greatest enhancement, “[w]hen two or more enhancements may be imposed for the infliction of great bodily injury . . . .” He argued that in addition to the section 12022.7 great bodily injury enhancement, he would receive a section 667(a)(1) enhancement for committing a serious felony with a prior serious felony conviction, but his current felony qualified as a serious felony solely because he had inflicted great bodily injury. Thus, both enhancements came under the ambit of section 1170.1(g). The trial court sentenced defendant to a 14-year aggregate term: the upper term of three years for count one, doubled for the prior strike; a three-year section 12022.7(a) enhancement; and a five-year section 667(a)(1) enhancement. The court then stayed imposition of sentence on counts two and three pursuant to section 654. The question presented for the Court of Appeals’ review centered on whether the enhancement for committing a serious felony, having been previously convicted of a serious felony (section 667 (a)(1)), was an enhancement “for the infliction of great bodily injury” (section 1170.1(g)) when the current felony was a serious felony solely because it involved the infliction of great bodily injury. The Court concluded it was not because the Legislature intended that section 667(a)(1) would apply to the defendant’s status as a recidivist, not his conduct of inflicting great bodily injury.
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