Court Opinion

ID: 9723833
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:34:50.494946+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:52.430319
License: Public Domain

ZENOVICH, J.
I respectfully concur with and dissent from the majority opinion.
I concur in the belief that the previous suppression of evidence did not have to be revealed to grand jurors based upon considerations of public policy. Under Johnson, the district attorney is obligated to inform grand jurors of evidence “reasonably tending to negate guilt.” (Johnson v. Superior Court (1975) 15 Cal.3d 248, 251 [124 Cal.Rptr. 32, 539 P.2d 792].) In Johnson, the prosecutor had not informed the grand jury about a defendant’s testimony at a preliminary hearing which led a magistrate to dismiss charges against him. {Id., at p. 250.) I read Johnson as encompassing more than just evidence which is directly exculpatory in nature. Johnson was partially based on an antecedent case, People v. Ruthford (1975) 14 Cal. 3d 399 [121 Cal.Rptr. 261, 534 P.2d 1341], which dealt with prosecutorial suppression of material evidence at trial. Ruthford held that there was a duty on the part of the prosecution “to disclose all substantial material evidence favorable to an accused, whether such evidence relates directly to the question of guilt, to matters relevant to punishment, or to the credibility of a material witness.” (Ruthford, supra, at p. 406.) Commentary has also suggested that credibility factors relating to a key prosecution witness would fall within the ambit of the Johnson rule. (See Note, Criminal Procedure: District Attorney’s Duty to Inform Grand Jury of Exculpatory Evidence (1977) 65 Cal.L.Rev. 382, 390-391.) Thus, some types of evidence may be exculpatory even though they do not directly negate a defendant’s guilt.
*800Nonetheless, the fact that some evidence has been previously suppressed should not be divulged to grand jurors. Direct testimony of an accused which convinces a magistrate to dismiss the complaint and factors relating to the credibility of prosecution witnesses are exculpatory because grand jurors possess the ability to weigh such evidence for purposes of explaining away the charges against the accused. In essence, “the grand jury’s determination is intended to be in the nature of a prediction of what the trial jury will do.” (Note, Criminal Procedure: District Attorney’s Duty to Inform Grand Jury of Exculpatory Evidence, supra, 65 CaLL.Rev. at p. 391.) Grand jurors do not, however, have the legal expertise to determine whether or not a suppression of evidence was correctly decided. Submission of the results of a suppression motion would allow the grand jury to speculate about the propriety of a search and/or seizure—matters beyond its role as a predictor of what jurors will do. Instead, it is preferable to let judges decide whether evidence is admissible under the exclusionary rule, since they are trained to make this type of legal conclusion.
Rather than having grand jurors decide these issues, the validity of the search or seizure can be relitigated de novo in a superior court hearing. (See Pen. Code, § 1538.5, subds. (i), (j).) This insures that a judicial mind can again competently consider the legality of the police intrusion. Because the grand jury does not possess the expertise to weigh this type of evidence, I agree with the result of the majority on this issue.
Although agreeing with the resolution of the Johnson contention, I feel that the officers here illegally searched appellant’s toolbox. The majority suggests that the procurement of the key from appellant did not vitiate the search because the officers intended to search the toolbox and because the police would have inevitably discovered the toolbox contents. Even though set forth as two separate theories, both hinge upon showing that the policemen wanted to secure the items in the toolbox in the event no key had been found. It is conjectural to think that the officers would have “sledge-hammered” the heavily padlocked box in light of previous discoveries of stolen items listed in the search warrant. In my opinion, procurement of the keys without consent was an unlawful search of appellant’s person and cannot be condoned unless the record clearly shows that inevitable discovery would have taken place.
*801Based on reasonable inferences from two passages in the record, the majority argues that the officers intended to search the toolbox. I believe that the majority’s reliance is misplaced when this evidence is examined. The majority initially cites to a colloquy between court and counsel, in which Detective Curtis said it was his intent to search the toolbox. The record plainly reveals, however, that the court sustained defense counsel’s objection to this question^ rendering this an improper part of the appellate record. Although defense counsel did not ask for a motion to strike, he made a timely objection and should not be punished for the court’s failure to then formally order the testimony stricken. (See Evid. Code, § 353. j1 Besides this testimony, the majority suggests that the officer’s inquiry into ownership of the toolbox gives rise to an inference that he intended to search it. This inference does not necessarily follow from the police inquiry, since there is no indication that a break-in would have been initiated absent procurement of the key. (See Evid. Code, § 600, subd. (b).) Moreover, there is no evidential support for the proposition that officers believed the contraband from the burglarized pharmacy would be found in the toolbox. Thus, there is insufficient evidence in the record to justify the search under the inevitable discovery rule.
It is my conviction that the taking of the keys from appellant’s person makes the subsequent seizure tainted under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. I would therefore reverse the conviction, since it was based on evidence obtained from an illegal search and seizure.

The fact that this was a neglect by the trial court and should be disregarded at the appellate level is borne out by the remainder of the colloquy. Immediately after the passage quoted in the majority opinion, the following exchange occurred:
“Q. By Mr. Welden: Did you intend to search that box?
“Mr. Ashe: Same objection.
“The court: Sustained.
“Mr. Welden: No further questions.” This shows that the defense properly preserved an objection to the testimony, thereby rendering it inconsequential for purposes of determining the officer’s intent. The failure to request a motion to strike does not retain evidence on the record where there was an exclusion through a proper objection.
In addition, the majority concludes that the relevancy objection was improper and the officer’s testimony should have been allowed. Since appellant does not challenge the propriety of the trial judge’s ruling on appeal, this conclusion of the majority is merely gratuitous.