California Court of Appeal

Conviction for drug crimes is affirmed where: 1) the trial court did not err in denying defendant's motions for appointment of experts under Evidence Code sec. 730 as the statute does not authorize request for experts to assist his attorney at sentencing proceedings; and 2) the court's denial of defendant's request for defense experts for the sentencing hearing did not violate his constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, and effective assistance of counsel as nothing in the federal or state Constitutions requires a trial court to appoint experts to serve as surrogate advocates at sentencing hearings.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/09/2009
• Published 07/09/2009

Judges

• SIMS, Acting P.J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Harry Zimmerman, Albuquerque, NM, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant., Edmund G. Brown Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette and Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorneys General, David A. Rhodes, Daniel B. Bernstein and Doris A. Calandra, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.