People v. Carrington

California Court of Appeal Jul 15, 1974 No. Crim. 12241Published

Before: Christian

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Holding. The court held that a denial of the People's petition for a writ of mandate by minute order constitutes a decision under Penal Code section 1538.5, subdivision (j), thereby binding the People to that ruling and precluding further litigation of the suppression issue.

Issues

Whether a denial of the People's petition for a writ of mandate by minute order constitutes a 'decision' under Penal Code section 1538.5, subdivision (j).
Whether the People are bound by an appellate court's denial of a writ petition regarding a suppression motion.

Disposition. affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“a denial by minute order of a petition by the People constitutes review by “writ to decision” within the meaning of section 1538.5, subdivision (j); the result is binding on the People.”

“The plain command of this sentence is that once the People obtain a decision from the appellate court, either by appeal or by writ, they may not relitigate the lawfulness of the search in the trial court or on appeal”

Opinion

CHRISTIAN, J.

The People appeal from an order dismissing 66 counts of an information which charged respondents with bookmaking (Pen. Code, § 337a). The order was made on the court’s own motion after wiretap evidence upon which the prosecution was founded had been suppressed on a defense motion made under Penal Code section 1538.5.

The disputed evidence had been obtained by federal officers acting under authority of an order of a federal district judge pursuant to title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2520). The superior court held that Penal Code section 631, subdivision (c), rendered the wiretap evidence inadmissible in the state prosecution, despite the order of the federal court.

[649]

The superior court properly felt bound by the directly applicable holding of the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District in

People

Jones

(1973) 30 Cal.App.3d 852 [106 Cal.Rptr. 749] (pet. for hg. den.; cert. den., 414 U.S. 804 [38 L.Ed.2d 40, 94 S.Ct. 163]). The People petitioned for a writ of mandate urging this court to declare for application in the First Appellate District a rule in conflict with that expressed in

People

Jones.

This we declined to do, citing the

Jones

decision in our minute order denying the writ.

The California Supreme Court has held in

People

Medina

(1972) 6 Cal.3d 484 [99 Cal.Rptr. 630, 492 P.2d 686], that where a motion to suppress evidence under section 1538.5 has been denied and a defense petition for a writ has been denied by the Court of Appeal

People v. Carrington

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CHRISTIAN, J.

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