Opinion ID: 2625366
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Armenta's Absence

Text: Although Armenta testified for the People at defendant's preliminary examination, he returned to Mexico before trial and could neither be compelled to appear nor located despite the prosecutor's reasonable diligence to find him. Accordingly, the People moved to introduce Armenta's earlier preliminary examination testimony. Before admitting it, the court, without defense objection, explained to the jury that Armenta was unavailable to testify because he could not be located. Defendant now asserts the court's explanation was false in that the true reason Armenta was unavailable was because he was in Mexico beyond the court's process and refused to voluntarily testify for the People. Defendant points to testimony elicited at a preliminary hearing held on the question of the prosecutor's due diligence and showing that at one point the People were able to contact Armenta by phone but he refused to return to testify. Defendant asserts that the court's assertedly false statement as to the inability to locate Armenta impermissibly bolstered the credibility of Armenta's preliminary hearing testimony. The Attorney General notes that the court's explanation was fully supported by a later federal Justice Department letter to the effect that Armenta indeed could not be located. In any event, we fail to see how the court's explanation to the jury could possibly bear on or enhance the credibility of Armenta's preliminary hearing testimony. If defendant believed otherwise, he should have objected and proposed a correction or clarification. Clearly, he waived the point by not objecting on this ground. (E.g., People v. Hawkins (1995) 10 Cal.4th 920, 945, 42 Cal.Rptr.2d 636, 897 P.2d 574.)