Moreira v. Superior Court

Opinion

THE COURT.

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The petition for writ of mandate was filed March 28, 1989. It challenges a denial of a Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6

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disqualification motion as untimely and challenges a refusal to appoint the public defender.

On March 30 we issued a temporary stay of further proceedings in the underlying criminal action and requested preliminary opposition.

On April 13 the People filed a letter advising that they would not be filing opposition.

On May 8 respondent filed a letter arguing that the motion to disqualify was timely but conceding that there was no good cause for refusing to appoint the public defender. The letter concluded, somewhat inconsistently, that

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response will not be filed on behalf of the Court [respondent].”

On May 9 we issued notice of our intent to grant the peremptory writ and invited opposition to be filed by May 26.

No opposition was filed.

We conclude that denial of the public defender’s Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6 motion to disqualify Judge Míreles was contrary to law and that, as of the date that motion was filed, Judge Míreles was effectively barred from hearing any matter in that action which involves a contested issue of law or fact. We also conclude that there was no good cause to deviate from the Penal Code section 987.2, subdivision (d), requirement that the public defender be appointed for indigent defendants.

These are the material facts. The public defender represented defendant in municipal court proceedings and filed a Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6 disqualification motion against Superior Court Judge Raymond Míreles one day before defendant’s superior court scheduled arraignment date.

On the arraignment date Judge Míreles denied the motion as untimely and then refused to appoint the public defender, stating that the public defender was filing “blanket affidavits” against the judge and thereby creating congestion of other courtrooms.