People v. Vera

Opinion

ELIA, J.

Marveya Vera appeals from a judgment of conviction of conspiracy to commit a crime (Pen. Code, § 182, subd. (a)(1)), namely a violation of Health and Safety Code section 11370 (sale of methamphetamine), and possession of a controlled substance, namely cocaine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11350, subd. (a)), following a jury trial.

[1102]

On appeal, the defendant contends she received ineffective assistance of counsel because (1) her attorney failed to argue that the least adjudicated elements of her prior conviction of violating Health and Safety Code section 11366

1

did not necessarily establish moral turpitude and, therefore, the conviction was inadmissible for impeachment under

People

v.

Castro

(1985) 38 Cal.3d 301 [211 Cal.Rptr. 719, 696 P.2d 111] and (2) her attorney failed to have her stipulate that she knew the substance, which officers found under her bed in the bedroom she had shared with her boyfriend up until shortly before her arrest, was cocaine. She asserts that these steps would have enabled her defense counsel to successfully object to the admission of evidence of her prior conviction of violating section 11366 and of her prior drug use on the ground that such evidence was unnecessary to prove knowledge.

In the published portion of this opinion, we hold that a violation of section 11366 is a crime of moral turpitude.

A.

Moral Turpitude

Section 11366 makes it a crime to open or maintain “any place for the purpose of unlawfully selling, giving away, or using” specified controlled substances or narcotic drugs.

2

The statute is aimed at places intended to be utilized for a continuing prohibited purpose, and a single or isolated instance of misconduct does not suffice to establish a violation. (See