People v. Ferrigno

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 14, 2025
DocketJAD25-05
StatusPublished

This text of People v. Ferrigno (People v. Ferrigno) 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. Ferrigno, (Cal. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Filed 8/26/25

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION APPELLATE DIVISION OF THE SUPERIOR COURT STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

THE PEOPLE, ) 24APCM00097 ) Plaintiff and Appellant, ) Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal ) Justice Center Trial Court v. ) ) No. 3CJ06574-01,02 GIUSEPPE JOHN FERRIGNO et al., ) ) Defendants and Respondents. ) OPINION )

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Robert C. Vanderet, Judge. Affirmed. Hydee Feldstein Soto, City Attorney, City of Los Angeles, Dennis Kong, Head Deputy City Attorney, Meredith McKittrick, Assistant Head Deputy City Attorney, Rita Patel and John R. Prosser, Deputy City Attorneys, for Plaintiff and Appellant. Ronald A. McIntire, Perkins Coie LLP, and Howard R. Price, for Defendants and Respondents. * * *

1 As succinctly summarized by the trial court, “At the heart of this case is the intersection of two compelling state interests: The conservation and protection of diverse fish species, and the promotion of California’s commercial fishing industry.” Defendants Giuseppe John Ferrigno and Benito Caserma were charged with violating California Fish and Game Code (FGC) section 2002, based on their possession of fish taken in violation of a regulation adopted pursuant to the FGC, namely California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 150.16, subdivision (a) (150.16(a)), barring capturing California scorpionfish shorter than 10 inches in length. The trial court dismissed the charge, determining 150.16(a) was not intended to apply to “bycatch” (FGC, § 90.5 [“fish or other marine life that are taken in a fishery but which are not the target of the fishery”]) netted during a commercial squid fishing operation, and the People appeal the dismissal. As discussed below, we draw the same conclusion as the trial court, and affirm. BACKGROUND A supplemental investigation report, which was prepared by agents of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) and was provided to the trial court by defense counsel in support of dismissing the charges, includes a useful backdrop. The commercial take of market squid . . . is one of the most lucrative fisheries in California. The squid are harvested by large permitted commercial seine vessels, which use a seine net to capture up to 100 tons of the nocturnal squid during a night’s fishing efforts.

The squid are attracted to the surface by a permitted light boat, a support vessel which has several high-powered lights that are directed toward the ocean’s surface. Once attracted to the surface, the squid school in a tight aggregate referred to as a “float.”

After the squid are aggregated, one end of the seine net is deployed from the seine vessel using a small support vessel referred to as a power skiff. The power skiff pulls the net in a wide circle around the light boat and the aggregate of squid, while the other end of the net is still attached to the seine vessel. The power skiff then returns its end of the net to the seine vessel. The net is now deployed in a large circle around the squid. The seine vessel mechanically pulls in one end of the net and “purses” the aggregated squid until the net and squid are along the vessel’s side.

The vessel deploys a large suction device (a large vacuum). The suction end is placed into the captured squid, located in the ocean water along the side of the

2 vessel. The squid, and saltwater, are sucked from the net, down a sorting shaft into the vessel’s fish hold . . . . Once the fishing efforts conclude, the vessel returns to port to offload the squid to a land-based squid processor.

The land-based squid processors use a large suction device (another vacuum) to remove the squid from the vessel’s hold. . . . The squid and remaining water are then “vacuumed” from the vessel’s hold and are moved down a large pipe to be weighed. . . . The squid continue to be moved to a mechanical device . . . that weighs the squid and then directs them into bins to be to be transported to a land- based facility to be processed.

Another investigation report, also provided to the court, documented how Department wardens on May 19, 2022, at approximately 9:30 a.m. in San Pedro in Los Angeles County, saw the commercial purse seine vessel Barbara H moored to a commercial offloading dock specializing in the processing of bait fish. During a compliance inspection of the dock facility, the wardens noted squid caught that day by the boat (14,740 lbs.) had already been processed and moved away, and they examined plastic bins containing bycatch confirmed by Caserma, the production manager, to have come from Barbara H’s haul. The wardens were informed employees pull the bycatch from the mechanical conveyor belt as the squid are moved through the facility, and the employees are allowed to keep the fish for personal consumption. The bycatch included 17 scorpionfish, each measuring less than 10 inches in length, along with sanddabs, sea cucumbers, skates and rays. Caserma, along with Ferrigno, the boat’s captain, were issued notices to appear for violations based on possession of the undersized scorpionfish. TRIAL COURT PROCEEDINGS The operative charge dismissed by the court was filed by way of a May 4, 2023 amended complaint alleging defendants violated FGC section 2002.1 On August 10, 2023, defendants filed a demurrer, which was overruled, and on January 10, 2024, they entered not guilty pleas at arraignment. On May 15, 2024, the day prior to when trial was scheduled to start, defense counsel argued to the court the prosecutor would be unable to establish a violation of FGC section

1 Additional charges in the amended complaint were dismissed at the prosecutor’s request such that only a single FGC section 2002 offense was alleged.

3 2002, because the scorpionfish were not taken in an illegal manner. Counsel maintained the regulation the People alleged was violated—150.16(a)—applied only to activity within the Department’s Nearshore Fishery Management Plan (Nearshore Fishery Plan), not to defendants’ conduct involving commercial squid fishing, which was regulated by the Department’s Market Squid Fishery Management Plan (Market Squid Plan). The prosecutor responded the regulation applied to defendants, because they were “out in a nearshore fishery fishing.” The court indicated it needed time to examine memoranda filed by the attorneys in favor and against dismissal, and continued the case. On May 23, 2024, the court noted it “circulated a proposed dismissal,” and after considering further arguments from defense counsel and the prosecutor, proceeded to dismiss the case under Penal Code section 1385. In a written order, the court explained the reasoning for its ruling. The court began by noting the “two compelling state interests” that were “[a]t the heart of this case,” as indicated above, and stated it took judicial notice as follows. “California [s]corpionfish are a venomous bottom-dwelling fish, which can live up to 21 years, and which are found along the California coast from Santa Cruz to the Mexican border, most prevalently in Southern California. They are largely a recreational fishing target, with minimal intentional commercial fishing. As of 2017, they were not considered to be overfished. In 2011, approximately $201 million dollars in ex-vessel revenue (the amount paid directly to fishermen) came from commercial fishery landings, and more than 120,000 jobs on and off the water were supported by the state’s seafood industry.” The court found the Department issued regulations with management plans for six distinct fisheries, including the Nearshore Fishery Plan and the Market Squid Plan.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. Ferrigno, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-ferrigno-calctapp-2025.