A defendant has the right to appeal the trial court’s ruling after a conditional reversal for a new Pitchess motion. (Clarifying People v. Guevara (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 62, 69.) Prior to his jury trial on charges relating to drug sale and possession for sale of drugs, appellant filed a Pitchess motion (Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531), seeking discovery of possible complaints against one of the officers involved in his arrest. After reviewing the officer’s personnel files in an in camera hearing, the trial court denied the request, finding that the files contained no relevant information. On appeal, the appellate court reviewed the transcript and concluded the record was insufficient to determine if the court abused its discretion. Accordingly, it ordered the judgment conditionally reversed with directions to hold a new Pitchess hearing in accord with the procedures discussed by the court. The court clarified that after the remand, appellant is precluded from relitigating issues that were or could have been decided in the first appeal, but he “retains the right to appeal from the judgment for the limited purpose of challenging the Pitchess findings.”
Case Summaries