Court Opinion

ID: 9792189
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:24:51.379278+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:40.532487
License: Public Domain

CARTER, J.
I concur in the judgment of reversal, but upon the sole ground that the trial judge abused his discretion in denying defendant’s motion for a continuance of his trial. I think it is clear that we have in this case a much less aggravated case of an arbitrary denial of the right of counsel to the defendant in a criminal case than existed in People v. Dorman, 28 Cal.2d 846 [172 P.2d 686], yet this court, in effect, though not expressly, holds that there was an abuse of discretion in denying a continuance in this case. However I believe that in this case as well as in the Dorman case the trial court abused its discretion if, indeed, it did not violate defendant’s constitutional rights.
According to the opinion prepared by Mr. Justice Schauer the prosecuting attorney represented to the trial court that foreign witnesses had been subpoenaed and were present, but none were called during the trial of the case. Presumably on the basis of that representation the.continuance was refused. While it is true that that factor was not involved in the Dorman case, in the instant case there had been (contrary to the Dorman case) a continuance of a month and the defense attorney may have been under a duty to arrange his time in a fashion that he would not have conflicting trial dates or withdraw from the ease. In both cases the defendant was forced to go to trial without prepared counsel. In the instant ease defendant at least had the prepared counsel of his choice for the major portion of the trial, while in the Dorman case he had an unprepared counsel for the entire trial. Moreover it is said by Justice Schauer “there is nothing in the record to show that defendant sought to delay his trial or that he appreciated the situation until May 23 when he appeared, unrepresented, and the court stated that he should ‘get busy today and see that you are represented [tomorrow].’ ” In the Dorman case there was also nothing in the record to show the defendant sought to delay the trial. As pointed out in my dissent therein and which is not disputed: “Likewise, by analogy in the instant case, we should indulge in the presumption that there was no scheme or plan by appellant to secure *464a postponement of the trial by the device of changing counsel. Otherwise the fundamental right is whittled away with the knife of a mere supposition that persons accused will impose upon the courts. ... I think it is obvious that the trial court was not sufficiently solicitous in protecting the constitutional right of the appellant to the assistance of counsel as that right is defined in the Glasser and Powell cases. It used as a weapon to prevent appellant from having a counsel of his own selection, the threat of either not making such a choice or taking an unprepared counsel by the device of denying a continuance, all upon the supposition that appellant was attempting to obtain an unjustified delay in the trial. ’ ’ (Italics added.) (People v. Dorman, supra, at p. 862.) Hence there is no basis for holding, at least by implication in this case, that defendant was deprived of prepared counsel of his own choice by the device of refusing a continuance, but that the defendant in the Dorman case was not. As above stated, the arbitrary action of the trial judge in denying a continuance in the Dorman case was much more aggravated than in the case at bar.
Be that as it may, there can be no doubt whatsoever that the trial court abused its discretion in denying a continuance in the instant case. Defendant’s counsel was absent for a portion of the trial because he was engaged in another trial. Defendant was wholly without representation by counsel of his choice during a portion of the trial. It was through no fault of defendant’s counsel that he was absent and engaged in another trial. The other case had been set for trial and he was unsuccessful in his endeavor to obtain a postponement thereof. It may be inferred that the prosecuting attorney misrepresented ■ the facts to the court in opposing the continuance. It may be true generally that, standing alone, the engagement of defendant’s counsel in another trial is not sufficient to compel the trial court to grant a continuance, but in such event it must appoint counsel to represent defendant and give the new counsel time to prepare the case, rather than forcing the defendant to trial without counsel—or with counsel who concededly knew nothing of the ease and who is as unwilling to try it as defendant is to have him do so. In the case at bar, at least in the first instance, defendant was even deprived of the opportunity to make his protest. (Thompson v. Thornton, 41 Cal. 626; People v. Logan, 4 Cal. 188; 23 C.J.S., Criminal Law, §§ 980, 982, pp. 322, 326; see People v. Russell, 156 Cal. 450 [105 P. 416] ; People v. Warren, 130 *465Cal. 678 [63 P. 87] ; People v. Goldenson, 76 Cal. 328 [19 P. 161].) In the instant case there may have been the appointment of counsel (Mr. Andrews) in the absence of defendant’s counsel, but not only was he not given time for preparation but the arrangement was unsatisfactory to both client and attorney.
In my opinion the only sound basis for a reversal of the judgment in this case is that the trial judge abused his discretion in denying defendant’s motion for a continuance of the trial to enable him to obtain counsel of his choice prepared to conduct his defense. The majority opinion states, but fails to squarely decide this issue. This failure is no doubt due to its inability to distinguish this case from the Dorman case, supra. Plainly, all of the distinguishing features of the two cases are in favor of the holding of the trial court in the case at bar, and if the decision of this court in the Dorman case is sound, the judgment in the ease at bar should be affirmed.
The refusal of the trial court to permit defendant to recall the witness Edwards for further cross-examination, was clearly not reversible error. The witness had been excused by defendant’s counsel (Andrews) without reservation, and he was not in attendance or available as a witness at the time of the request. Certainly, denial of a request to recall a witness under such circumstances cannot constitute prejudicial error requiring the reversal of a judgment in a criminal case.
The holding of the majority opinion, that the refusal to permit the recall of Edwards for further cross-examination constituted prejudicial error, is based upon the assumption that Mr. Andrews would not have excused Edwards without reservation had he been prepared to try the case, or rather that if Mr. Coghlan would not have done so because he knew the importance of Edwards’ testimony. But this amounts to nothing more than saying that if the trial court would have granted a continuance so that Mr. Coghlan or some other attorney prepared to try the case had been representing defendant from the beginning of the trial, the witness Edwards would not have been excused until he had been subjected to a thorough cross-examination. In other words, the basis of all the error complained of was the refusal of the trial court to grant a continuance of the trial.
I can see no escape from the proposition that if the trial court properly denied the continuance, it likewise properly *466denied the request to recall the witness, as the latter request was based upon the unpreparedness of Mr. Andrews to try the case, which was due to the refusal of the court to grant a continuance.
In the Dorman case, supra, this- court affirmed a judgment of conviction of the crimes of murder, kidnapping and robbery against a 19-year-old boy, who was a sergeant in the United States Army, where the attorney of his choice had but two days to prepare for trial and the public defender who had been previously appointed admitted that he was not prepared to try the case. The trial court nevertheless denied defendant’s motion for a continuance even for one week, and a majority of this court upheld this arbitrary action. I insist that if this is good law, the judgment in the case at bar should be affirmed. However, I am convinced that such decisions violate both the spirit and letter of our constitutional guarantees, and that this judgment should be reversed.