People v. Superior Court

Opinion

ARDAIZ, P. J.

Statement of Facts

Real party in interest in this court, Rodney Berryman, Sr., was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Kern County Superior Court. The

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conviction and sentence were upheld by the California State Supreme Court. In a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, real party in interest raised by collateral review over 20 claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel.

Petitioner in the present case, the People of the State of California, represented by the State Attorney General, filed a motion in Kern County Superior Court seeking release of real party in interest’s confidential funding requests pursuant to Penal Code section 987.9, which provides:

“(a) In the trial of a capital case or a case under subdivision (a) of Section 190.05 the indigent defendant, through the defendant’s counsel, may request the court for funds for the specific payment of investigators, experts, and others for the preparation or presentation of the defense. The application for funds shall be by affidavit and shall specify that the funds are reasonably necessary for the preparation or presentation of the defense. The fact that an application has been made shall be confidential and the contents of the application shall be confidential. Upon receipt of an application, a judge of the court, other than the trial judge presiding over the case in question, shall rule on the reasonableness of the request and shall disburse an appropriate amount of money to the defendant’s attorney. The ruling on the reasonableness of the request shall be made at an in camera hearing. In making the ruling, the court shall be guided by the need to provide a complete and full defense for the defendant.

“(b) The Controller shall not reimburse any county for costs that exceed Board of Control standards for travel and per diem expenses. The Controller may reimburse extraordinary costs in unusual cases if the county provides sufficient documentation of the need for those expenditures.

“At the termination of the proceedings, the attorney shall furnish to the court a complete accounting of all moneys received and disbursed pursuant to this section.