California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Curl v. Superior Court (People), 223 Cal.App.3d 1058, 258 Cal.Rptr. 308 (Cal. App. 1989):
Although constitutional validity of the prior murder conviction is not an element of the special circumstance, the court must adjudicate that issue, if raised, pursuant to the procedure set forth in People v. Coffey (1967) 67 Cal.2d 204, 60 Cal.Rptr. 457, 430 P.2d 15 and People v. Sumstine (1984) 36 Cal.3d 909, 206 Cal.Rptr. 707, 687 P.2d 904. "A jury can no more be expected to disregard a 'true' prior conviction because of its unconstitutionality than it can be expected
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