People v. Logan

Opinion

WIENER, J.

Anthony Lee Logan’s appeal requires our review of the trial court’s evidentiary ruling, involving the genus

Beagle

1

specie

Moultrie

2

Betts,

3

Barrick

4

and

Thompson.

5

We conclude the most

[577]

productive approach is to avoid adding another chapter to the tome already written on this subject, preferring to await resolution of this issue by the Supreme Court in

Barrick/Thompson.

For the purpose of this opinion only, we will reject

Moultrie

and assume error in the court’s denial of defendant’s

Beagle

motion which would have allowed the prosecutor to ask Logan, if he decided to testify, whether he had ever been convicted of a felony involving theft. We focus only on whether this error was prejudicial. As we shall explain, even though the erroneous ruling prevented Logan from testifying, we decide the error was not prejudicial and affirm the judgment.

The testimony of four witnesses in this one-day jury trial established the following.

On July 31, 1980, at about 11 a.m., Logan entered Larry’s Liquor Mart in La Habra. At the counter he asked the clerk, John Reid, for a package of cigarettes. When Reid placed the cigarettes on the counter, Logan pulled a knife from underneath his shirt and told Reid to “give me your money.” Reid took the money out of the registers and placed it into a brown paper bag. Logan fled.