Court Opinion

ID: 9632788
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 11:25:08.550346+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:59:59.640084
License: Public Domain

MOSK, J.
I concur in the judgment.
In my view, petitioner is not entitled to the relief he seeks. To be sure, he has a right to a prompt arraignment in San Francisco under article I, section 14 of the California Constitution. But through his arraignment in Calaveras and the appointment of counsel in San Francisco, he has already received all the benefits that the right is intended to guarantee—its “principal purposes” being “to prevent secret police interrogation, to place the issue of probable cause for the arrest before a judicial officer, to provide the defendant with full advice as to his rights and an opportunity to have counsel appointed, and to enable him to apply for bail or for habeas corpus when necessary.” (People v. Powell (1967) 67 Cal.2d 32, 60 [59 Cal.Rptr. 817, 429 P.2d 137] [decided under Cal. Const., art. I, former § 8, the relevantly similar predecessor of present § 14].)
With that said, I am of the view that the sequence of prosecution effectively determined here satisfies the ends of justice. The charges in Calaveras are considerably more serious and numerous than those in San Francisco. The latter consist of single counts of murder, attempted murder, and accessory after the fact to murder. The former include 11 counts of murder under 7 special circumstances. They are properly tried first.
Nevertheless, I would not deduce a “rule” from what has transpired here. It is doubtful that the sequence of prosecution should depend on which county succeeds in securing custody of the defendant. Often this fact is fortuitous. Never is it dispositive in and of itself. For example, if San Francisco authorities had arrested defendant, under a “rule” of mere priority they would have been permitted to try him first—despite the more serious and numerous charges in Calaveras. For an even more graphic illustration: if Amador authorities had arrested defendant for a single routine burglary, under this same “rule” they would have been allowed the first trial—despite the other, much more serious and numerous charges. Certainly, such results would not serve the interests of justice.
*42I hope that the Legislature will establish a mechanism whereby the sequence of prosecution among competing counties may appropriately be determined. It could perhaps authorize the Attorney General, as “the chief law officer of the State” (Cal. Const., art. V, § 13), to fix the order of multiple trials. I trust that a legislative response will be forthcoming.