“We express no opinion as to whether a defendant would be entitled to call live witnesses to dispute [the] circumstances of the prior offense .... ”
How later courts described this case
- “We express no opinion as to whether a defendant would be entitled to call live witnesses to dispute [the] circumstances of the prior offense .... ”
- expressio unius maxim inapplicable where contrary to legislative intent
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
MOSK, J.
I concur in the judgment. After review, I have found no reversible error or other defect.
I also largely concur in the opinion prepared for the court by Justice Werdegar. On one point, however, I must part company. I would go further and expressly disapprove People v. Castellanos (1990) 219 Cal.App.3d 1163 [ 269 Cal.Rptr. 93 ]; People v. Goodner (1990) 226 Cal.App.3d 609 [ 276 Cal.Rptr. 542 ]; and People v. Gonzales (1994) 29 Cal.App.4th 1684 [ 35 Cal.Rptr.2d 450 ]. As Justice Werdegar’s analysis makes plain, they are erroneous and mischievous.