Opinion ID: 2567623
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: Francis Barolsley

Text: Francis Bardsley, a criminal defense practitioner who formerly had been employed by the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office in positions involving the supervision of trial attorneys, and who served as the first Public Defender of San Diego County, testified as an expert on behalf of petitioner. Bardsley's May 18, 2004, declaration was jointly submitted to the referee, and he testified in person. After reviewing numerous documents related to this case, Bardsley opined that the testimony of Joe Saucedo played the central role in the penalty phase of petitioner's capital trial. He further opined that the information contained in the Montez letter relates to the most important issues in petitioner's case and that the information in the letter impeaching Saucedo is extremely credible. Disclosure to petitioner's defense team of the information provided to the prosecution by Jimmie Barnes and the prosecution's arrangements with him, Bardsley opined, would have led the defense to useful evidence, and the defense could and would have effectively cross-examined Saucedo regarding Barnes's information. Bardsley opined similarly concerning disclosure to the defense of the information provided to the prosecution by Marvin Sanchez and the prosecution's arrangements with him. Disclosure of the information provided by Steven McDonald would also have led the defense to useful evidence. In sum, Bardsley opined: The combination of Saucedo's central role, the importance of the information contained in the Montez letter, and the credibility of the information contained in the Montez letter demonstrates that the defense would have effectively cross-examined Saucedo with such information. The impact from the information contained in the Montez letter would have dramatically undermined the jury's confidence in Saucedo's credibility. The cross-examination would have effectively eliminated the jury's ability to rely upon anything Saucedo said. The contradiction between Saucedo's penalty phase testimony and the admission of evidence contained in the Montez letter is stark, palpable and undeniable. The defense would have been able to cross-examine Saucedo regarding his knowledge of the[ ] deals and arrangements made by the prosecution with [Montez, Barnes, and Sanchez]. Independently of such deals, however, Saucedo obviously was aware of his statements and confessions to at least five separate individuals. Moreover, in order for the prosecution to have discharged its obligations under the rules of discovery and its constitutional obligations ... the prosecution would have had to have informed Saucedo of these witnesses' statements against him and the deals the prosecution had made with them. Pursuant to these three deals, the prosecution had gathered more than enough witnesses to seal Saucedo's fate at trial. The defense could have effectively argued that Saucedo had only one way outto lie, cut a deal with the prosecution and pin the crime on [petitioner. On cross-examination, Bardsley acknowledged he had tried cases in which the prosecution presented testimony from jailhouse informants who received benefits in return for testifying. He also acknowledged the prosecution at petitioner's penalty phase trial had urged petitioner's lack of remorse and argued factors in aggravation based on guilt phase evidence, in addition to the Hosey murder evidence. But according to Bardsley, in 1982 capital juries in the Central District of the Los Angeles County Superior Court were almost always returning life verdicts on single robbery homicides and death verdicts only in multiple homicide cases.