California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Lau, G047515 (Cal. App. 2013):
you can leave it up to me to determine whether they're valid or not. And that can either be done right after the trial or at the time of sentencing. [] Or, lastly, you can admit that you suffered those prior convictions, again, if you're [found] guilty." Prior to choosing to bifurcate the trial, defendant agreed she had discussed the advantages and disadvantages of her various options with regard to the charged prior convictions. Defendant explicitly waived her right to have a jury decide the prior conviction allegations. At the sentencing hearing, defense counsel spoke off the record to defendant about whether to admit the priors. After this conversation, defendant admitted the prior convictions. When the only potential "error is a failure to advise of the penal consequences, the error is waived if not raised at or before sentencing." (People v. Wrice (1995) 38 Cal.App.4th 767, 770-771.)
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