P. v. Shelton
Defendant Peter Shelton stabbed Joseph Davidson in front of the Stockman Club in Fair Oaks. Finding defendant not guilty of attempted murder, the jury convicted him of the lesser-included offense of attempted voluntary manslaughter on an imperfect self-defense theory. The jury also convicted defendant of assault with a deadly weapon. With respect to both convictions, the jury found defendant inflicted great bodily injury on Davidson. With respect to the attempted voluntary manslaughter conviction, the jury found defendant personally used a deadly weapon. The trial court sentenced defendant to serve an aggregate term of seven years in state prison and imposed other orders.
On appeal, defendant contends: (1) the trial court abused its discretion and violated his constitutional right to a fair trial by admitting into evidence testimony concerning specific instances of violent conduct engaged in by defendant about 10 years before the incident at the Stockman Club; and (2) assuming the trial court did not err in admitting evidence of defendant’s prior violent conduct, his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by opening the door to the admission of this evidence. As we explain, while the trial court abused its discretion by ruling defense counsel opened the door to evidence of defendant’s prior violent conduct, introduction of the challenged evidence was harmless.[1] Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.
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