Supreme Court of California

Recusal against a prosecutor for alleged conflicts of interest, arising out of the prosecutor's consultations with the makers of a motion picture based on the defendant's story, is reversed and the case remanded where: 1) the court of appeal gave no deference to the trial court's findings of fact or its application of law to the facts when it chose to review the case de novo; 2) the possibility that the case might be a capital case did not warrant a heightened form of review; 3) the possible disclosure of confidential information when the prosecutor handed over files to the movie producers did not deprive defendant of a fair trial; 3) the prosecutor did not intend to disseminate an inflammatory portrayal of defendant since the prosecutor cooperated with the movie producers before defendant was captured, and the prosecutor sought to have defendant portrayed as accurately as possible in the movie; 4) the prosecutor had no present financial interest in the movie and the possibility of acclaim in high profile cases is endemic to these kinds of cases; and 5) recusal cannot be based on the totality of the circumstances, since an actual conflict is required beyond judicial condemnation of the prosecutor's actions.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/12/2008
• Published 05/12/2008

Judges

• WERDEGAR, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Law Offices of James E. Blatt, James E. Blatt, Michael G. Raab, Encino;  and Armand Arabian for Petitioner., Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, Donald E. de Nicola, Deputy State Solicitor General, Robert R. Anderson, Mary Jo Graves and Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews, Robert M. Snider, Kristofer Jorstad and David F. Glassman, Deputy Attorneys General;  Thomas W. Sneddon, Jr., and Christie Stanley, District Attorneys, and Gerald McC. Franklin, Deputy District Attorney, for Real Party in Interest., Michael A. Ramos, District Attorney, (San Bernardino) and Grover D. Merritt, Lead Deputy District Attorney, for California District Attorneys Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest.


• For Appellees:
  
• No appearance for Respondent.