People v. Byrd

Opinion

ASHBY, Acting P. J. Appellant Robert Byrd appeals after being convicted on one count of grand theft (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. 1), five counts of willfully passing insufficient fund checks (Pen. Code, § 476a, subd. (a)), and one count of petty theft (Pen. Code, § 484, subd. (a)). We affirm and remand for sentencing.

Introduction

Appellant’s convictions arose from his actions between August 2, 1987, and August 27, 1987. During this time, appellant wrote numerous checks drawn on two bank accounts, one at City National Bank and one at Bank of Los Angeles. At the time he wrote the checks appellant knew there were insufficient funds in the accounts to cover the checks and all “bounced.” Four of the checks, totalling $995.44, were used to pay for a room at the Le Dufy Hotel.

The grand theft conviction related to the taking from the Le Dufy; the petty theft conviction related to the loss City National Bank suffered; and the other convictions (five counts) related to the passing of bad checks.

[507]Where relevant to the legal issues, other facts are discussed below.

Appellant raises numerous issues. In the published portion of this opinion (pt. II) we determine that the court’s failure to inform appellant, a defendant representing himself, of his right to a speedy trial (Pen. Code, § 1382, subd. (d)) does not necessitate reversal.

In the unpublished portions of this opinion (pts. I, III, IV, and V), we conclude that: (pt. I) appellant’s waiver of counsel was knowingly and intelligently made (Faretta v. California (1975) 422 U.S. 806 [45 L.Ed.2d 562, 95 S.Ct. 2525]); (pt. Ill) the court did not err in failing to instruct with CALJIC Nos. 2.01 and 2.02; (pt. IV) there was no reversible error in not instructing on the defense of reasonable expectation of payment (CALJIC No. 15.28); and (pt. V) Penal Code section 654 prohibits consecutive sentences on some of the counts.1

Part I*

(Faretta Issue)

Part II

(Speedy Trial Issue)

Appellant asserts reversal is mandated because the court failed to explicitly inform him of his speedy trial rights. (Pen. Code, § 1382, subd. (d).)3 We are not persuaded by this assertion.