Opinion ID: 2567545
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Disclosure of Prosecutorial Documents

Text: Zonen concedes that in the course of assisting the Alpha Dog filmmakers, he gave them materials from his Hollywood case file and from the case files of the four completed prosecutions. Filmmaker Cassavetes described the materials turned over as voluminous. The trial court assumed for purposes of its ruling that everything in the case files for the completed prosecutions was made available. Crediting Zonen's statements, the trial court concluded that if Zonen disclosed any confidential documents, such disclosures were inadvertent and at most negligent, not intentional. The trial court was entitled to credit Zonen, and his statements constitute substantial evidence. The trial court declined to make findings on the further question whether Zonen's disclosure of documents in fact involved any Penal Code violations. [4] Violations of the law regarding dissemination of confidential records are sanctionable and may result in criminal prosecution and punishment. (See, e.g., §§ 11105, 11140-11144 [regulating dissemination of criminal records and making unlawful dissemination a misdemeanor], 1203.05 [regulating dissemination of probation reports].) Recusal is also an available sanction. Hollywood argues that if zeal within legal limits does not amount to a recusable conflict, as we have said ( Hambarian v. Superior Court, supra, 27 Cal.4th at p. 843, 118 Cal.Rptr.2d 725, 44 P.3d 102), then zeal that exceeds legal limits perforce must amount to a conflict requiring recusal. We disagree. While recusal may be available in cases where there has been an illegal disclosure of confidential documents, it is not mandatory. Rather, recusal is appropriate if and only if, as we have framed the test, the disclosure gives rise to a conflict `so grave as to render it unlikely that defendant will receive fair treatment.' ( People v. Vasquez (2006) 39 Cal.4th 47, 56, 45 Cal.Rptr.3d 372, 137 P.3d 199.) Thus, it is for the trial court in the first instance to consider whether the fact of disclosure and its collateral effects (such as, for instance, a fear of being personally prosecuted) are likely to affect the challenged prosecutor's ability to exercise discretionary functions in an evenhanded fashion and render a fair trial unlikely. The trial court focused on that precise question, repeatedly asking Hollywood's counsel to explain how, if indeed Zonen had committed legal breaches, they might create a conflict for him and deprive Hollywood of a fair trial. [5] In the end, the trial court was not persuaded that the disclosures did create any conflict. Reviewing for an abuse of discretion, we agree. While in the abstract it is conceivable a fear of criminal sanctions might alter how Zonen handled this case, the trial court found Zonen credible and concluded the possibility that confidential documents might have been disclosed inadvertently would not prevent Zonen from acting fairly toward Hollywood. That conclusion does not appear arbitrary or capricious and is supported by substantial evidence. In adopting the contrary view, the Court of Appeal neither explained how the disclosure of documents created a conflict nor how such a conflict might deprive Hollywood of a fair trial. Instead, it appears to have reasoned that Zonen committed misconduct and for that reason alone should have been removed as prosecutor. Putting aside for the moment the absence of any trial court finding that Zonen committed misconduct, we emphasize that recusal motions are not disciplinary proceedings against the prosecutor. The ultimate focus of the section 1424 inquiry is on protection of the defendant's rights, not whether recusal may be just or unjust for the prosecutor. Thus, in some cases a prosecutor may have committed misconduct but not be subject to recusal because the misconduct does not impair the defendant's right to a fair proceeding; in other cases, a prosecutor may commit no misconduct but nevertheless be subject to recusal because a conflict, through no fault of the prosecutor's, jeopardizes the defendant's rights. Here, the trial court could conclude that even if there was misconduct, it did not deprive Hollywood of his right to a fair trial. Under the circumstances, that ruling was not an abuse of discretion, and we defer to it on appeal.