Is a defendant's prior drug conviction admissible to the charge of possession with intent to sell?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Brooks, C082076 (Cal. App. 2018):

In drug prosecutions, evidence of prior drug convictions is usually admissible to establish the intent to possess the drugs for sale. (People v. Williams (2009) 170 Cal.App.4th 587, 607.) Under the circumstances presented, the prior crimes are sufficiently similar. The 2008 case was a conviction under the same Health and Safety Code section as the current conviction, section 11378, and was for the same drug, methamphetamine. The 2013 conviction was for transportation and sale under Health and Safety Code section 11379, but the drug involved was different. The bare fact that defendant was previously convicted of possessing drugs with intent to sell is highly relevant to the current charge for possession with intent to sell where the prosecution must prove intent, even if the details of the circumstances of sale are different. Obviously, the jury is less likely to believe a defendant's claim that a large quantity of

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