People v. Farley CA4/3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 14, 2015
DocketG049516
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Farley CA4/3 (People v. Farley CA4/3) 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
People v. Farley CA4/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

Filed 9/14/15 P. v. Farley CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G049516

v. (Super. Ct. No. 11HF1409)

AUSTIN JEFFREY FARLEY, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, James R. Brandlin, Judge. (Judge of the L.A. Super. Ct. assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to art. VI, § 6 of the Cal.Const.) Affirmed as modified. David P. Lampkin, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Peter Quon, Jr., and Marilyn L. George, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * * INTRODUCTION While inebriated, Austin Jeffrey Farley drove a pickup truck into another vehicle, killing one of its passengers and injuring four others. A jury convicted Farley, as charged, of one count (count 1) of second degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)), one count (count 2) of driving under the influence causing bodily injury (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a)), and one count (count 3) of driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more causing bodily injury (id., § 23153, subd. (b)). As to counts 2 and 3, the jury found to be true two enhancement allegations under Penal Code section 12022.7 of infliction of great bodily injury. The trial court sentenced Farley to a prison term of 21 years to life, consisting of the upper term of three years on count 2, a consecutive term of three years for an enhancement on count 2, and a consecutive, indeterminate term of 15 years to life on count 1. Sentence on count 3 and on the enhancements to that count was imposed and execution of sentence was stayed under Penal Code section 654. With respect to each of Farley’s contentions, we conclude: 1. The evidence of implied malice was sufficient to uphold the conviction for second degree murder. 2. The trial court did not err in admitting evidence of the facts regarding a prior drunk driving conviction. Even if the trial court erred by allowing evidence of an incident of uncharged reckless driving, the jury instructions rendered any error harmless. 3. The trial court did not err by allowing testimony about statements made at a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) victim impact panel attended by Farley. 4. Farley’s trial counsel was not ineffective by failing to object and move to strike cross-examination testimony of Farley’s expert psychologist, and any error by the trial court in overruling certain other objections was harmless. 5. Farley’s trial counsel was not ineffective by conceding the knowledge element of implied malice in closing argument.

2 6. There was no cumulative error. 7. Sentence on the enhancement that was incorrectly imposed against count 1 must be vacated. 8. Credits were stated correctly in the abstracts of judgment We therefore vacate the sentence on the enhancement on count 1 and in all other respects affirm.

FACTS I. The Fatal Collision At about 1:15 a.m. on May 29, 2011, M.G. was driving his 2008 Mercedes Benz northbound on Culver Drive in the City of Irvine. He had picked up his 14-year-old daughter, P.G., and her friends, K.M., A.R., and A.S., at a friend’s house and was taking them home. As M.G. approached the intersection with Irvine Boulevard, he noticed, in a southbound lane of Culver Drive, a vehicle that seemed to be slowly turning left against a red light into the intersection. The light was green for M.G., and he flashed his high beams once or twice “to get the driver’s attention” before proceeding into the intersection. The vehicle, a 2003 Dodge pickup truck driven by Farley, did not stop, but accelerated. Farley drove the truck through a red light, made a left turn into the intersection, and struck M.G.’s car on the driver’s side between the driver’s door and the passenger door. The impact caused M.G.’s car to spin 180 degrees counterclockwise, travel northward, and strike a light pole at the northeast corner of the intersection. A.S., who was seated in the driver’s side rear passenger seat, was killed. The cause of death was blunt cranial cerebral trauma. K.M., who was seated in the middle of the rear passenger seat, suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung, an inflamed spleen, and lacerations to her face.

3 Neither Farley nor his passenger, J.R., was injured. Immediately after the crash, J.R. heard Farley say, “I’m fucked.” Farley tried to drive away, but his truck was badly damaged and stalled in the middle of the road, 30 to 40 feet from the crash site. Timothy Song was driving home and was stopped at a red light on Irvine Boulevard when the collision occurred. When, a few seconds later, Song had a green light, he drove to M.G.’s car, stopped, and turned on his car’s hazard lights. Song got out of his car, ran to the Mercedes, and asked if everyone was all right. Someone from inside the Mercedes asked Song to get the license number of the other vehicle. Song walked over to Farley’s pickup truck. He noticed the truck’s rear wheel was still spinning. When Song asked if Farley and J.R. were okay, J.R. asked Song, “is she dead? . . . [T]he girl, is she okay? Is she alive?” Irvine Police Officer Sean Metevia arrived at the scene at 1:19 a.m. When Metevia approached Farley’s truck, the engine was still running. Metevia noticed that Farley’s eyes were watery and bloodshot. Metevia heard J.R. say to Farley, “you didn’t see the red” and Farley respond, “light was green.” Farley acknowledged that he had been drinking. He told the police officers he drank two or three beers during the course of the evening and did not feel the effects of the alcohol. A test of a blood sample drawn from Farley at 2:59 a.m. showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent. The forensic scientist who conducted the test estimated that Farley’s blood-alcohol level at 1:15 a.m. had been 0.22 percent to 0.23 percent. The scientist believed that a man of Farley’s height (six feet two inches) and weight (220 pounds) would have to drink 15 to 16 “standard drinks” to reach a 0.23 percent blood-alcohol level. Surveillance video showed that Farley and J.R. had been at a bar from 10:14 p.m. to 12:34 a.m. Farley’s blood sample also had a therapeutic level of clonazepam (Klonopin), a form of benzodiazepine that is prescribed for stress or as an antiepileptic. Klonopin is a central nervous system depressant and can intensify the effects of alcohol.

4 Farley took Klonopin to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and severe anxiety, and earlier on the day of the collision, he had taken two pills instead of the prescribed dosage of one pill. II. Farley’s Police Interview Farley was taken into custody and interviewed by Irvine Police Officer Allyson Maddy at 6:07 a.m. on May 29, 2011. An officer named Meyer also was present. When Farley entered the interview room, Maddy noticed he emitted a strong odor of alcohol. The interview started once Farley was read his rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436. During the interview, Farley said that on May 28, 2011, he had been at his friend Zach’s house and, from there, took a taxi to the “Dubliner” bar to celebrate his 26th birthday. Farley took a taxi to the Dubliner so he would not have to drink and drive.

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