Stroud v. Superior Court

• Decision Date: 10 August 2000
• Docket Number: No. S081186.,S081186.
• Citation: 98 Cal.Rptr.2d 677,4 P.3d 933,23 Cal.4th 952
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: Todd Russell STROUD, Petitioner, v. The SUPERIOR COURT of Los Angeles County, Respondent; The People, Real Party in Interest. Tyrone Franklin Swain, Petitioner, v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Respondent; The People, Real Party in Interest.

98 Cal.Rptr.2d 677

23 Cal.4th 952

4 P.3d 933

Todd Russell STROUD, Petitioner, v. The SUPERIOR COURT of Los Angeles County, Respondent;

The People, Real Party in Interest.

Tyrone Franklin Swain, Petitioner, v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Respondent;

The People, Real Party in Interest.

No. S081186.

Supreme Court of California.

August 10, 2000.

Daniel G. Davis and Dennis A. Fischer, Santa Monica, for Petitioner Todd Russell Stroud.

Michael P. Judge, Public Defender, Jeri Polen and John Hamilton Scott, Deputy Public Defenders, for Petitioner Tyrone Franklin Swain.

No appearance for Respondent.

Gil Garcetti, District Attorney, Brent Riggs and William Woods, Deputy District Attorneys, for Real Party in Interest.

BAXTER, J.

Here we consider issues concerning the application of Penal Code section 861. This statute requires dismissal of a criminal complaint if the preliminary examination is not completed in "one session ..., unless the magistrate, for good cause shown by affidavit, postpones it." (Ibid., italics added.)¹

During a preliminary examination of capital defendants in custody, the parties stipulated to minor interruptions for their convenience and waived, on the record, the continuous conduct of the examination during those particular periods. Then, on the fourth day of the examination, which by then had already continued well past an original time estimate, the magistrate announced that on the Friday four days thence, he would be attending a one-day Judicial Council task force meeting in a distant location. No defendant objected until a day and a half before the meeting was to occur.

The magistrate attended his Friday meeting, and no proceedings in the preliminary examination were held on that day. The examination resumed on the following Monday and was completed around noon of the immediately following Wednesday. The defendants were bound over for trial. The superior court denied their motions to set aside the information for violation of section 861. (§ 995.) However, the Court of Appeal granted their consolidated petitions for writ of prohibition, ordering that no further proceedings be conducted under the information except to dismiss it and set it aside.²

We granted review to consider the two issues raised in the People's petition. First, the People argue that defendants' stipulations to particular interruptions in the examination waived the "one session" rule for all purposes, thus permitting any and all further postponements regardless of the circumstances. We will conclude this contention must fail. The specificity of the stipulations themselves belies defendants' intent to waive any other interruptions. Moreover, the People's broad theory entirely contravenes the statutory purpose of a prompt, continuous, and expeditious preliminary examination.

We will, however, accept the People's alternative argument, based on the "good cause" exception set forth in section 861, that the magistrate's one-day absence to attend his meeting was not grounds for dismissal of the complaint. As we will explain, the good-cause determination depends on the totality of pertinent circumstances in each case, with due regard for the right of an accused person, particularly one in custody, to obtain an expeditious determination of probable cause. The standard of appellate review is abuse of discretion.

Applying these principles here, we will find the magistrate did not abuse his discretion when he determined, in effect, that he had good cause for his one-day absence. A judicial officer's outside administrative duties, such as attendance to Judicial Council business, are not in and of themselves sufficient cause to delay a preliminary examination, where proper planning would have avoided the conflict. Indeed, judicial officers should make every reasonable effort to avoid situations in which such outside business might interrupt ongoing preliminary examinations.

Here, however, the record suggests the conflict arose only because the examination had long exceeded its original time estimate. Moreover, though the magistrate announced his meeting plans once the conflict became apparent, defendants substantially delayed their objection. These facts, not improper planning, made it impracticable to accommodate defendants, such as by reassigning the case or holding extended sessions to complete the examination before the magistrate's departure. Given the overall length of the examination, the magistrate's explicit determination that he "must" attend the meeting, the brevity of his absence, the dearth of other interruptions (except by stipulation or, as authorized by statute, for other court matters), and the lack of any claim or showing that defendants would suffer prejudice beyond one extra day in custody, the one-day postponement did not violate section 861.

We will therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

FACTS

A complaint charged defendants jointly with one count of first degree murder with a robbery-murder special circumstance, and three counts of robbery, all with firearm-use enhancements. Various prior convictions were also alleged against both defendants. Both were in custody pending the preliminary examination.

The preliminary examination began at 2:05 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22, 1998.³ Almost immediately, the prosecutor asked to interrupt the next day's proceedings by 10:30 a.m. so she could attend a meeting. Counsel for Stroud responded that his client was not prepared to waive his right to a continuous session. The proceedings continued, and were adjourned for the day at 5:12 p.m.

The next morning, Thursday, July 23, the examination recommenced at 9:56 a.m. Counsel advised the court that all parties had agreed the examination would adjourn that day at 10:30 a.m. so the prosecutor could attend her meeting; would resume the next morning, Friday, July 24; would adjourn on Friday, July 25, at noon to allow defense counsel to review the prosecutor's notes of witness interviews; then would resume a normal schedule on Monday, July 27. The magistrate indicated he would ask the defendants to "waivet ] a continuous prelim basically all the way until Monday" to resolve all scheduling problems. (Italics added.)

The magistrate thereupon explained to defendants that they were statutorily entitled to a "continuous preliminary hearing." This, he said, "basically means ... a preliminary hearing without interruption, [where] I devote most of my resources to the ... hearing," a "singular continuous prelim where that is what we do each day," except for minor diversions for other judicial business. According to the magistrate, the proposed Thursday and Friday breaks "would mean that we would not be doing your preliminary hearing continuously because I will be doing other work."

The magistrate then asked Swain, "do you agree to waive ... your right to a continuous preliminary hearing with the understanding that we would do this matter on Monday, but we would have interruptions today and tomorrow?" (Italics added.) Swain agreed. The magistrate then asked Stroud, "do you ... waive your right to a continuous preliminary hearing for at least Thursday and Friday, that we're only going to do this part-time, and I'm going to be doing other work?" (Italics added.) Stroud agreed. Counsel for both defendants joined the waivers.

The preliminary examination adjourned at 10:36 a.m. on Thursday, resumed at 9:16 a.m. on Friday, and adjourned at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Proceedings resumed at 10:46 a.m. on Monday, July 27. During the proceedings on Monday afternoon, the magistrate remarked, "I don't know if I should reveal this. Do you know that we're not going to be in session on Friday [July 31]?" The prosecutor said, "no." The magistrate explained, "[w]ell, we're not, and it won't violate anybody's rights because I will be in San Francisco attending a meeting of the Judicial Council." The court suggested this would not contravene the one-session rule because he would not be interrupting the examination to perform "other work," i.e., other judicial duties within the municipal court.

No party responded to the magistrate's announcement. The matter arose again later Monday afternoon during a discussion about how to schedule an on-call witness, Detective Perkins. Swain's counsel, obviously referring to the magistrate's impending absence, remarked, "Let's tell Detective Perkins we don't have to worry about Friday." The magistrate confirmed that "[t]here won't be any court proceedings [on Friday] as far as I know." Defendants raised no protest at this time or during the proceedings on the following day, Tuesday, July 28.

Near the end of the day on Wednesday, July 29, during another discussion of witness scheduling, Stroud's counsel asserted that "we have tomorrow and Friday" to put the witness on the stand. The magistrate responded, "Friday we're dark. I'm not here." Stroud's counsel objected, noting that "we could be through with the prelim." The magistrate answered, "That's too bad. I won't be here on Friday. I have judicial business with the Judicial Council, and as far as I know, I'm not violating anybody's rights by not working on Friday."

Stroud's counsel renewed his objection "under the single-session rule unless you want to release my client until you come back." Acknowledging that Stroud would remain in the "hoosegow" during his absence, the magistrate nonetheless reiterated his view that "[t]he single-session rule requires, when I'm in session, that I devote all substantially most of my time to his case. I won't be in session on Friday." Stroud's counsel replied that the one-session statute "exists" so these "serious matters" will be "complete[d]," and that there was a chance to finish by Friday. The magistrate replied that the hearing might be completed on Thursday, but if not, on Monday. "I won't be here on Friday."

The witness-scheduling discussion resumed. During the discussion, the court...