Court Opinion

ID: 9726877
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 13:11:06.271982+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:31.449455
License: Public Domain

SCOTT, J.
I respectfully dissent.
Before the trial court entered its order of dismissal in this case, defense counsel told the court and the prosecutor that no appellate matters were pending. In fact, that representation, although made in good faith, was incorrect. The Attorney General’s office was preparing a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, and had *294already filed an application for a stay with that court. Although both the district attorney’s office and the State Public Defender’s office were aware of the Attorney General’s petition, neither trial attorney had been informed. Six days later the prosecutor, having learned of the actual appellate status of the case, requested that the court vacate its order of dismissal, on the ground that there had been a mistake of fact. The majority concludes that under these circumstances, the court had no power to vacate or set aside the order. I disagree.
The majority correctly states that although a trial court has the inherent power to correct clerical errors in its records so as to make those records reflect the true facts, it cannot similarly correct judicial error by amendment. (In re Candelario (1970) 3 Cal.3d 702, 705 [91 Cal. Rptr. 497, 477 P.2d 729].) However, the power of a court to amend its judgments by correcting mistakes is to be distinguished from its power to vacate or set aside a judgment it has rendered. (See 21 Am. Jur.2d, Criminal Law, § 569 et seq.; 46 Am.Jur.2d, Judgments, § 186 et seq., § 679 et seq.) It is the latter which is at issue in this case, and not an attempt to correct judicial error under the guise of correcting a clerical omission. For that reason, Candelario is inapposite.
Code of Civil Procedure section 473 provides the procedure whereby a party may seek relief from a judgment or order taken against him through his mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. As the majority correctly points out, that section has been held inapplicable in criminal cases. (Gonzales v. Superior Court (1935) 3 Cal.2d 260, 263 [44 P.2d 320].) The majority then questions whether in a criminal case the court has some nonstatutory power to disturb its judgments which encompasses its action in this case. I would conclude that it has.
A court of general jurisdiction has inherent equity power, aside from statutory authorization, to vacate and set aside judgments obtained through extrinsic fraud and mistake; unless limited by statute the power is a necessary incident of the constitutional grant of general jurisdiction. (Bloniarz v. Roloson (1969) 70 Cal.2d 143, 147 [74 Cal.Rptr. 285, 449 P.2d 221].) Although a motion to vacate pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 473 may not be available in a criminal case, in this state a petition for a writ of error coram nobis is the equivalent of a motion to vacate the judgment. (People v. Shipman (1965) 62 Cal.2d 226, 229, fn. 2 [42 Cal.Rptr. 1, 397 P.2d 993]; People v. Wheeler (1970) 5 Cal. App.3d 534, 536, fn. 2 [85 Cal.Rptr. 242]; see also Witkin, Cal. Crimi*295nal Procedure (1963 & 1978 supp.) § 626 et seq.) To obtain relief by such a writ, the petitioner must show there is some new fact which is not of record and does not go to the merits of the issues. In addition, the petitioner cannot have known of the error at the time of trial, and the fact, if it had been known, must have been one which would have resulted in a different verdict. (People v. Esquibel (1975) 44 Cal. App.3d 591, 595 [118 Cal.Rptr. 748].) Moreover, the petitioner must show that the facts upon which he relies were not known to him and could not in the exercise of due diligence have been discovered by him at any time substantially earlier than the time of his motion for the writ. (Shipman, supra, 62 Cal.2d at p. 230.) It is evident, then, that notwithstanding the inapplicability of section 473, the court in a criminal case does have the power to set aside a judgment on a proper showing, and petitioner points to no statute which would make this dismissal order immune from the exercise of that power. Double jeopardy prohibitions would obviously preclude the grant of such relief to the prosecution after a judgment of acquittal, but no such considerations are involved here. I would conclude, therefore, that the trial court did have the inherent power to set aside its order of dismissal in this case.
I would also conclude that it was reasonable for both the prosecutor and the court to rely on defense counsel’s good faith representations as to the status of the case. As a result of those representations, defense counsel, the prosecutor, and the court all labored under the same mistaken belief that no appellate proceedings were pending. It is apparent that had the prosecutor been aware of the Attorney General’s petition, he would not have moved for dismissal. As soon as the prosecutor discovered the truth, he sought to have the court set aside the dismissal. I would conclude that on these facts, the court had the power to vacate its order, and did not abuse its discretion in so doing.
I would deny the writ.
The petition of real party in interest for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied April 13, 1981. Caldecott, J.,* and Racanelli, J.,* participated therein. Richardson, J., was of the opinion that the petition should be granted.

Assigned by the Chairperson of the Judicial Council.