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Defendant sought review of a judgment from the Superior Court, Los Angeles County (California), which convicted defendant of heroin possession. During the preliminary hearing, defendant's counsel stipulated that a powdery substance discarded by defendant was heroin.

Defendant discarded a cigarette package, and after retrieving the package, the police discovered a powdery substance inside. Tests on the substance revealed that it was heroin, and during a preliminary hearing, defendant's counsel stipulated, without an objection from defendant, that the substance was heroin. Following defendant's conviction for heroin possession, defendant sought review, claiming that the stipulation was improper. In upholding the stipulation, the court held that an attorney, charged with the defense of a client's interest, was allowed to exercise one's own best judgment in the conduct of a case and that in the absence of some complaint by a defendant in the trial court, the acts of counsel were imputed to the defendant. The court also rejected defendant's contention that the stipulation deprived defendant of the right to confront the chemist who tested the substance. Finally, the court held that because defendant did not raise the objections to the preliminary hearing until after the conviction, the objections were waived pursuant to Cal. Penal Code §§ 995, 996.