People v. Prieto

Opinion

THE COURT. On June 16, 1992, in San Bernardino County Superior Court, defendant Alfredo Prieto was sentenced to death. On January 12, 1996, Attorneys Andrew E. Rubin and Terrence V. Scott were appointed to represent defendant Alfredo Prieto in his automatic appeal and any related habeas corpus proceedings. The record on appeal was certified on May 14, 1999, and included a reporter’s transcript of 18,074 pages and a clerk’s transcript of 4,246 pages. The court informed Rubin and Scott by letter dated May 14, 1999, that the appellant’s opening brief was due on June 23, 1999. The court thereafter granted requests for extensions of time to file appellant’s opening brief on June 24, 1999, and September 2, 1999.

On March 15, 2000, we granted the People’s “Motion for Correction of the Record on Appeal Following Superior Court Augmentation of the Record” and struck that portion of the record on appeal which incorporated the records of the cases of Prieto’s codefendants. We also granted Rubin and Scott’s request for an extension of time to file appellant’s opening brief and extended the deadline for the brief “to and including May 15, 2000.”

On June 12, 2000, we granted Rubin and Scott’s fourth request for an extension of time to file the opening brief “to and including July 14, 2000,” but stated in our order: “No further extensions of time are contemplated.”

On July 20, 2000, we granted a fifth request for an extension of time to file the opening brief “to and including September 12, 2000,” but stated in our order: “No further extensions of time will be granted.”

On September 11, 2000, Rubin and Scott filed a sixth request for an extension of time to file the opening brief. On September 20, 2000, Rubin and Scott submitted a supplemental declaration as requested by the court. In the declaration, Rubin averred “that the brief should be filed before the end of the year.”

On October 17, 2000, we granted the sixth request for an extension of time “[b]ased solely on the representation of counsel Andrew R. Rubin that [1178]he will file appellant’s opening brief in this matter ‘by the end of the year . . . Our order stated that “appellant’s opening brief shall be served and filed on or before January 10, 2001.” Our order further warned that “[i]f the brief is not filed by that date, the court will consider issuing an order directing appellant’s counsel to show cause before this court, when the matter is ordered on calendar, why counsel should not be held in contempt of court and further payments suspended or other sanction imposed for his delay in the appellate process occasioned by the approximately 18-month extension of time thus far granted.”