State Idaho v. Wilburn Arthur Smith

This case presents a potpourri of issues relating to a conviction of first degree burglary and to a determination that the defendant is a persistent violator. The convicted defendant, Wilburn Smith, asserts that his trial on the burglary charge was tainted by a denial of due process because (1) the court admitted unreliable identification testimony; (2) an alleged accomplice invoked the Fifth Amendment privilege, frustrating Smiths right of cross-examination; and (3) an accumulation of errors resulted in an unfair trial. With respect to the persistent violator determination, Smith contends (1) that the court erroneously allowed the state to amend its information after it had rested its case on the burglary charge; (2) that the jury who convicted him of the burglary should not also have determined his persistent violator status; (3) that the prior felony convictions supporting the persistent violator determination should have been treated as a single conviction; (4) that the state failed to prove the prior crimes actually were felonies; and (5) that the Judge gave burden-shifting instructions to the jury. Although these contentions have been well presented by able counsel, we conclude, for reasons set forth below, that the judgment of conviction should be affirmed.