People v. Korth CA4/3

Filed 9/28/23 P. v. Korth CA4/3 Received for posting on 10/24/23

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G061515

v. (Super. Ct. No. 21CF3200)

JESSICA KORTH, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Andre De La Cruz, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. Robert L. Hernandez, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Arlene A. Sevidal and Andrew Mestman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

At her trial for driving under the influence (DUI), appellant Jessica Korth admitted she had suffered a prior conviction for that offense. She now contends that admission was invalid because it was not preceded by a knowing and voluntary waiver of her constitutional rights. She also seeks review of the records the trial court examined in connection with her Pitchess motion. (See Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531 (Pitchess).) We agree with appellant that her admission to the prior conviction allegation was invalid. Therefore, we reverse the true finding on that allegation and remand for further proceedings. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND At around 2:20 a.m., on April 18, 2021, the police were called to the scene of a traffic accident in Orange, where they found a Honda with a damaged rear bumper and a Buick with damaged front bumper. They also found appellant walking in the area with a set of car keys in her hand. When questioned by officers, appellant admitted she had been driving the Buick. She claimed she ran into the Honda after swerving out of the way to avoid a bicyclist. Appellant also admitted she was drunk from having consumed a 12-pack of hard seltzers that evening. After she failed a number of field sobriety tests and was unable to provide an adequate breath sample for a preliminary alcohol screen, she was arrested and taken to jail. There, she refused to provide a blood sample, so the police obtained a warrant to draw her blood, which turned out to have an alcohol content between .168 and .172 percent. Appellant was charged with misdemeanor DUI and driving with a blood- alcohol content above .08 percent. (Veh. Code, § 23152, subds. (a) & (b).) On both counts, it was alleged her blood-alcohol content was .15 percent or more, and she refused to submit to an alcohol test. (Id., §§ 23578, 23577.) She was also charged with having been convicted of DUI in Illinois in 2014. (Id., § 23626.)