Unpublished. (Thanks for Eric Goldman) Introductory grafs:
Roland Vincent, a law school graduate with a long-inactive license to practice in Nevada (and no admission to the California Bar), agreed to assist acquaintances in California with their California legal problems, and took money from them for that purpose. A jury found him guilty of the unauthorized practice of law (Bus. & Prof.Code, s 6126, subd. (a)), of receiving money on false pretenses (theft) (Pen.Code, s 487, subd. (a)) from one of the acquaintances, and of petty theft with a prior (Pen.Code, s 666) from the other acquaintance.
Vincent challenges his convictions for theft and petty theft with a prior, contending primarily that by virtue of his inactive Nevada license his status as an attorney was not a false pretense. He argues also that under Penal Code
section 654 he cannot be sentenced to both the unauthorized practice of law and receiving money under false pretenses because both those offenses were motivated by the same intent and objectives. He urges that the prosecution should not have been permitted to impeach his credibility with his prior misdemeanor convictions,
and that his wife should not have been questioned about her use of various names. Finally, he contends that his theft conviction and sentence of three years in prison must be reduced to a misdemeanor based on a change in Penal Code section 487, subdivision (a) before his conviction became final. We disagree with all his contentions except the need to reduce the count 1 conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor. We will otherwise affirm the convictions.