People v. Misa

In People v. Misa (2006) 140 Cal.App.4th 837, a jury convicted the defendant Misa of one count of torture and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury. (Misa, supra, at p. 840.) The trial court sentenced Misa to an indeterminate life sentence on the torture count, a determinate term on one assault count, and stayed punishment on the second assault count. Additionally, the trial court imposed separate five-year enhancements under section 667, subdivision (a)(1) on the torture count and the assault count for Misa's prior serious felony conviction. (Misa, supra, at p. 841.) On appeal, Misa contended that under People v. Tassell (1984), the trial court erred in imposing the prior conviction enhancement twice, once on the determinate term imposed on the assault count and again on the indeterminate term imposed on the torture count. The Court of Appeal rejected Misa's argument, holding that "Tassell is inapplicable to indeterminate sentences where the defendant is subject to the 'Three Strikes law.'" (Misa, supra, 140 Cal.App.4th at p. 845.) The appellate court reasoned that even though People v. Williams (2004) dealt with the issue of multiple prior enhancements on a third strike offender, "a logical application of the Williams analysis in this context a second strike offender with an indeterminate sentence would require the imposition of the prior conviction enhancement on Misa's second strike offense (the torture count) notwithstanding that the enhancement was also imposed as a status enhancement relating to the determinate term on the assault count." (Misa, supra, at p. 846.)