People v. Carino CA2/1

Filed 3/27/14 P. v. Carino CA2/1

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

THE PEOPLE, B244423

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA119647) v.

EMANUEL C. CARINO,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Robert J. Higa, Judge. Affirmed. Verna Wefald, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, James William Bilderback II and Alene M. Games, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Emanuel Carino appeals from the judgment after a jury convicted him of sexually molesting his eight year old step-daughter. Carino claims that the court erred in denying his request for appointment of an expert on false confessions to determine whether there were psychological reasons why he might have voluntarily confessed to crimes he did not commit. We find that Carino failed to lay an adequate foundation for appointment of such an expert and affirm the judgment. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW Based on statements by eight year old A.L. to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and South Gate police the police arrested Carino and charged him with two counts of sexual intercourse with a child age 10 or younger and one count of oral copulation or sexual penetration with such a child. While Carino was in custody the DCFS removed A.L. and her siblings from their mother’s custody and placed them in foster care. A South Gate police detective interviewed Carino while he was in jail. In that interview Carino confessed to “touching” A.L.’s vagina on several occasions and confirmed “[I]t’s the truth that it happened.” A transcript of this interview was introduced at trial.1 The People also introduced a letter Carino wrote to A.L. in his own words stating in part: “I just did it and I regret touching you.” On the day set for trial Carino requested that the court appoint an expert in “false confessions” to aid the defense. The court denied the motion “in large part because it’s simply untimely.” The court also noted that it found the defense declaration in support of the request inadequate to justify the appointment of an expert.