P. v. Stopani CA5

Filed 7/19/13 P. v. Stopani CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F064742 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 11CM7556) v.

JORGE STOPANI, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kings County. Thomas DeSantos and James LaPorte, Judges.† William W. Lee, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

* Before Cornell, Acting P.J., Gomes, J. and Poochigian, J. † Judge DeSantos presided over the Marsden and Pitchess motions; Judge LaPorte presided over the motion for continuance and trial.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Carlos A. Martinez and Marcia A. Fay, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- This appeal raises two questions: Did the trial court fail to make an adequate inquiry concerning a complaint about the performance of appointed defense counsel by defendant and appellant Jorge Stopani? We conclude the court fully discharged its duty under People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118. Second, did the court abuse its discretion in denying a defense motion for continuance, made on the first day of trial, to permit counsel to file a discovery motion under Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531? We conclude the court did not abuse its discretion. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Defendant was an inmate at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility at the state prison in Corcoran. Defendant was housed in a unit that consisted of a day room, a toilet room, and three dormitory rooms, all of which were overseen from an office separated from the unit by a wall with large windows. Defendant was confined to a wheelchair. On June 28, 2011, Corrections Officer Tim Price announced from the office, over the loudspeakers, that there would be a search of the unit; he instructed all the inmates to return to their assigned dormitories. As inmates were complying, Price and his partner, Jesse Lopez, Jr., also in the office, saw defendant wheel himself from his dormitory to the toilet. There, defendant stopped at a covered trash can, and the officers saw him pull an unidentified object from between his legs and deposit it into the trash can. Lopez told Price to continue to watch defendant, and Lopez went to the trash can. He found that the trash can was empty except for a homemade knife lying at the bottom. Defendant was charged with violation of Penal Code section 4502, subdivision (a), possession of a weapon by a prisoner. The information also alleged one prior strike and