CALIFORNIA MURDER DEFENSE: ATTORNEY WHO CANNOT BE "READY" TO TRY A CAPITAL CASE WITHIN 60 DAYS OF ARRAIGNMENT CAN BE RELIEVED. OUTRAGEOUS!
California Penal Code sec. 987.05 says that the court can require you to say that you'll be able to try a case within 60 days of arraignment in the post-information court, and that if it turns out that you're not ready for trial, without good cause, the court can relieve you. The
Supremes here uphold relieving counsel on a death penalty case.
They say that California Penal Code sec. 987.05 applies, even though the reason counsel wasn't ready was that he was preparing two other death cases. California Penal Code sec. 987.05 says that counsel's other business isn't relevant. Here, counsel needed a year more to get ready. Of course, once he was relieved, new counsel surely needed almost that long (the court somehow doesn't mention this little problem).
What about Roswall (89 Cal.App.3d 467), which says that relieving counsel who's already handling a case interferes with the def.'s right to counsel? Not discussed. And we're going to have a
system where you literally handle one case at a time? Really?
People v. Avila; 2009 DJ DAR 8610; DJ, 6/16/09; Cal. Supremes
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