Opinion ID: 1182062
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 17

Heading: The In Camera Hearing on Defendant's Testimony

Text: (30) After both sides rested in the guilt phase but before final arguments, the trial court directed defendant and defense counsel to go before another judge of the superior court to permit a sealed statement to be made for the record regarding defendant's decision to testify on his own behalf. The ostensible purpose of this procedure was to preserve for appeal the contemporaneous views of defendant and trial counsel with respect to defendant's testimony at the guilt phase. In the course of a colloquy about the procedure, the trial court expressed concern about defendant's testimony in light of evidence of his drug and alcohol use. Although the procedure adopted by the trial court was somewhat unorthodox, defendant has demonstrated neither error nor prejudice under the circumstances of this case. Neither the trial judge nor the jury heard any aspect of the in camera proceeding before the other judge. Contrary to defendant's argument, the trial judge's desire to preserve the record without becoming enmeshed in the attorney-client relationship between defendant and his counsel did not give rise to a sua sponte judicial duty to hold a hearing on the effectiveness of counsel or the mental state of defendant. There is no evidence defendant was acting irrationally. (See, in contrast, Drope v. Missouri (1975) 420 U.S. 162, 180 [43 L.Ed.2d 103, 118, 95 S.Ct. 896].) Finally, defense counsel's decision to put his client on the stand at the guilt phase was not so clearly improvident as to give rise to an inference that counsel was not acting in a manner to be expected of reasonably competent attorneys acting as diligent advocates. ( People v. Pope (1979) 23 Cal.3d 412, 425 [152 Cal. Rptr. 732, 590 P.2d 859, 2 A.L.R.4th 1].) There is no showing defense counsel either failed to advance an available defense, advised his client to give false testimony, or otherwise acted or failed to act in a manner that adversely affected the defense.