Court Opinion

ID: 9731277
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:41:03.321142+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:16.767597
License: Public Domain

PANELLI, J.
I concur with the result reached by the majority, however, I do so because the record in this case is wholly inadequate to resolve the issue presented. There is no record concerning the manner in which petitioner was counseled regarding the processing of his Penal Code section 1381 demand. We do not know by whom petitioner was given California Department of Corrections Form 643, and what information he was given concerning the necessary endorsement. The California Department of Corrections has set forth a rather detailed procedure for processing “holds” and section 1381 demands.1 These procedures would clearly obviate the problem which is before us, since under those procedures the written notice under 1381 would have necessarily been endorsed by the “jailer.” Here, *1178we simply have no record of whether these procedures were complied with by Department of Corrections personnel, and if not, why not.
I also separately concur because I disagree with the majority’s holding that the endorsement requirement set forth in the last sentence of section 1381 “is the concern of the ‘sheriff, custodian or jailer,’ not the prisoner.” When one reads this last sentence in context with the balance of the section it appears clear that the inmate has the responsibility of obtaining the “jailer’s” endorsement. More importantly, a “jailer” would not even be aware of an inmate’s section 1381 demand unless the inmate was required to present his written notice to a custodial official for endorsement. The holding of the majority encourages inmates to prepare and mail section 1381 notices without the information required by the endorsement in the hope that district attorneys are unable to locate the case pending against the inmate within the prescribed time. This concern is demonstrated by the facts of this case. Here, petitioner’s first written notice to the district attorney, which was not endorsed by a custodial official, prevented his location and thereby his prosecution, within 90 days of its receipt. The second written notice which was properly endorsed as required by section 1381 resulted in petitioner’s location and the commencement of prosecution within the requisite 90-day provision. If an inmate can avoid the obligation of obtaining the endorsement required by section 1381 he may effectively play a form of legal hide and seek. I do not believe this type of legal gamesmanship should be encouraged.
However, in this case, as earlier indicated in this concurrence, I am unable to determine how the first Form 643 was processed. It obviously was not processed in accordance with the California Department of Corrections Case Records Manual. The People have the burden of making an adequate record to support the trial court’s action. Here we have no record showing whether the missing endorsement was the fault of the petitioner or the Department of Corrections. Accordingly, the petition should be granted.

Section 910: “(a) The correctional case records manager shall notify the inmate when a detainer (hold) is received, and shall provide the inmate with a copy of the detainer and with information regarding what action the inmate may take to request disposition of the detainer, [f] (b) The CDC Form 661 (Exhibit B) shall be used to notify an inmate that a detainer has been received and recorded.”
Section 911: “(a) If the detainer is from another agency of this state for untried charges, the inmate shall be notified that he/she may request disposition of pending charges by filing a demand for trial in accordance with the provisions of Penal Code section 1381. If the detainer is for violation of probation, the inmate shall be advised that a request for disposition of probation may be filed in accordance with the provisions of Section 1203.2a of the Penal Code. [H] (b) CDC Form 643 shall be used to demand trial on untried charges in California. This form shall be mailed to the district attorney via certified mail, return receipt requested. Whenever possible, demand for trial should not be initiated in the reception centers. Due to the short stay in the reception centers, the time frames, receipts and sequence of events are difficult to maintain; better control can be maintained by the mainline institution case records staff, [f] (c) Penal Code Section 1381 provides that a person must be brought to trial within 90 days after written notification of the place of confinement. The 90-day period starts the day the district attorney acknowledges receipt of the CDC Form 643. [t] (d) If the inmate has not been brought to trial at the conclusion of the 90-day period, a CDC Form 669, Motion to Dismiss Criminal Charges Pending, and a CDC Form 670, Order for Dismissal, shall be prepared and forwarded to the court having jurisdiction of the matter. [1] (e) CDC Form 616 and CDC Form 617 shall be used to request disposition of probation when the grant of probation was issued by a California court. The sample form letter, Exhibit C (end of chapter) shall accompany the CDC form to the probation department or to the court.”