Barsamyan v. Appellate Div. of Superior Ct.

50 Cal. Rptr. 3d 554, 144 Cal. App. 4th 602
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 1, 2006
DocketB188695
StatusPublished

This text of 50 Cal. Rptr. 3d 554 (Barsamyan v. Appellate Div. of Superior Ct.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barsamyan v. Appellate Div. of Superior Ct., 50 Cal. Rptr. 3d 554, 144 Cal. App. 4th 602 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

50 Cal.Rptr.3d 554 (2006)
144 Cal.App.4th 602

Vardui Rose BARSAMYAN, Petitioner,
v.
APPELLATE DIVISION OF the SUPERIOR COURT of Los Angeles County, Respondent;
The People, Real Party in Interest.

No. B188695.

Court of Appeal of California, Second District, Division Seven.

November 1, 2006.

Michael P. Judge, Public Defender, Karen Nash and John Hamilton Scott, Deputy Public Defenders, for Petitioner.

*555 No appearance for Respondent.

Rockard J. Delgadillo, City Attorney, Debbie Lew, Assistant Deputy Attorney, Sunnie Lee Daniels and Katherine H. MacKenzie, Deputy City Attorneys, for Real Party in Interest.

WOODS, J.

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner seeks an order requiring the appellate division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court to issue its order instructing the trial court to dismiss a pending misdemeanor prosecution against her pursuant to Penal Code[1] section 1382, subdivision (a)(3)(B).

More particularly, we are called upon to determine whether the 10-day "grace period" set forth in section 1382 was exceeded in violation of petitioner's statutory right to a speedy trial, thereby requiring the pending misdemeanor prosecution to be dismissed. For the reasons hereafter stated, the petition is denied.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SYNOPSIS

In a misdemeanor complaint filed June 1, 2005, petitioner Vardui Rose Barsamyan ("Barsamyan") was charged with a single count of grand theft in violation of Penal Code section 487, subdivision (a). Respondent is the appellate division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court and has not appeared in this writ proceeding. Los Angeles City Attorney Rockard J. Delgadillo represents Real Party in Interest— the People of the State of California.

On June 3, 2005, Barsamyan was arraigned in the airport courthouse Division 141 before the Honorable Donna Groman, orally advised of her rights including the right to be tried within 30 or 45 days, and assigned counsel through the public defender's office. Barsamyan entered a plea of not guilty, requested a jury trial and was released on bail pending trial, never having been placed in custody. The matter was then continued for trial on July 14, 2005. The 45th day after her arraignment fell on July 18, 2005. However, Barsamyan consented to being tried beyond that date.

On September 7, 2005, counsel for Barsamyan announced ready for trial, entitling Barsamyan to be brought to trial on the 10th day thereafter which fell on a Saturday, thereby extending the trial date to the following Monday, September 19, 2005, unless good cause was shown for further delay.

The case was continued by the court to September 15, 2005, the court noting that September 15th was the 8th day of the 10 day grace period. On September 15, 2005, Barsamyan appeared with counsel Deputy Public Defender Karen Nash, who announced that Barsamyan remained ready for trial. Nash represented to the court that she was also announcing ready for trial in a case involving one Gena Veta George, Los Angeles County Superior Court case No. 5WL00886. Deputy Public Defender Nash further represented to the court that the People and her client Gena Veta George were engaged in ongoing negotiations on the George matter, which prompted the court to state it would "send it out just in case."

Barsamyan's counsel later inquired of the court if the Barsamyan matter might be delayed to the next day, within the statutory grace period, representing that the George case might very well be resolved on September 15, 2005. This request prompted the following colloquy *556 among counsel and the court in the George matter (the companion case to Barsamyan, both trailing within the 10-day grace period):

"MS. NASH: Your Honor, on Barsamyan I would ask to trail that to tomorrow. I still haven't heard from the deputy who watched the video so that trial might go away.

"THE COURT: I have been instructed by Department E that if you can't announce ready on both—well, you can't try both, that we need to continue the second one.

"MS. NASH: I understand that. I am asking to continue it until tomorrow.

"THE COURT: As a new zero of ten?

"MS. NASH: No, within the period.

"THE COURT: I can't do that, so we will need to pick a new zero of ten date on Barsamyan.

"MS. NASH: Your Honor, for the record, I don't think that legally the court can force me to waive time. I am asking to just trail within the period, and we are not waiving time because in my experience, and this is just not the legal reasoning but so the court knows my reasoning behind this is that cases that get sent out for trial don't go; this other case might resolve today so I am asking to come back on nine of 10 or 10 of 10.

"THE COURT: That request to trail is denied, as defense cannot be ready on two different trials at once, unless you wanted to find another trial deputy who is able to step in today to handle Miss Barsamyan's case.

"[Prosecutor] MR. FOX: The file is upstairs with Miss Brown so we do not have that file.

"THE COURT: I am sorry? Barsamyan?

"MR. FOX: Yes. That is the other eight of ten, correct?

"THE COURT: Yes. They need to pick a date.

"MR. FOX: I need to pick a date. It is upstairs with [Deputy City Attorney] Miss Brown.

"THE COURT: Miss Nash needs to get out on the other trial so we are going to need to pick a date right now.

"MR. FOX: I understand.

"MS. NASH: Your Honor, for the record, when People aren't ready to go to trial they ask to trail, so I am just asking to trail; that is the same thing that happens all the time when the prosecutors ask to trail when they are not ready.

"THE COURT: I understand. That request is denied. [¶] Let me just pass this for a few minutes. Mr. Fox, please—

"MR. FOX: We just called for it right now. [¶] (Recess)"

Further, on September 15, 2005, the following colloquy occurred:

"THE COURT: Vardui Barsamyan matter. [¶] What is the People's status on that?

"[Prosecutor] MR. AGUADO: Ready.

"THE COURT: Time estimate?

"MR. AGUADO: Four days.

"[Deputy Public Defender] MS. NASH: Your Honor, on this case I have been trying to work out a dispo. I want to get sent out on both cases because I understand it is the practice to send us out to a dispo court first.

"THE COURT: Not necessarily; it depends on how many open courts we have.

"MS. NASH: Miss George mil go to trial.

"THE COURT: We will recall both cases at 10:20.[¶] (Recess)

*557 "THE COURT: Recalling the Vardui Barsamyan matter. [¶] What date did you want on Barsamyan, Miss Nash?

"MS. NASH: Your Honor, I am just asking for a date within the period.

"THE COURT: I know, but if you are not going to get a date within what you consider to be the period, what date do you want? Tomorrow?

"MS. NASH: I am stuck in a rough spot because I can't, I am not waiving time.

"THE COURT: Well then Miss Barsamyan—I am going to order her to return tomorrow as a zero of ten. [t] Do you wish to be heard, Miss Brown?

"[Prosecutor] MS. BROWN: Your Honor, just so the record is clear, this is outside the original statutory period so therefore unless she is announcing unequivocally ready to proceed today, there is (unintelligible).

"THE COURT: I have made that determination but then the question becomes is there any objection to setting a new zero of ten from the People?

"MS.

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Related

People v. Johnson
606 P.2d 738 (California Supreme Court, 1980)
Owens v. Superior Court
617 P.2d 1098 (California Supreme Court, 1980)
Townsend v. Superior Court
543 P.2d 619 (California Supreme Court, 1975)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
50 Cal. Rptr. 3d 554, 144 Cal. App. 4th 602, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barsamyan-v-appellate-div-of-superior-ct-calctapp-2006.