People v. Rodriguez

728 P.2d 202, 42 Cal. 3d 1005, 232 Cal. Rptr. 132, 1986 Cal. LEXIS 298
California Supreme Court·Decided December 11, 1986·No. Crim. 24124·Published·Cited by 55 cases

Opinion

Opinion

LUCAS, J.

Defendant Juan Rodriguez (hereinafter Juan) appeals after he was charged with and convicted of kidnapping (Pen. Code, § 207; all further statutory references are to this code) and discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling (§ 246) while personally using a firearm (§§ 12022.5, 1203.06, subd. (a)(1)). He was sentenced to the lower term of three years with the firearm use enhancement stayed. Defendant Barbara Rodriguez (hereinafter Barbara) appeals after he was charged with and convicted of kidnapping (§ 207), for which he received probation and county jail time. Defendants raise five issues on appeal: (1) as Spanish-speaking defendants, they were improperly denied full-time assistance of an interpreter; (2) the evidence supported at most the lesser included offense of false imprisonment, but not kidnapping; (3) the evidence was insufficient to support Juan’s section 246 conviction; (4) the trial court improperly excluded evidence regarding Juan’s intent; and (5) the trial court had discretion to grant probation to Juan. We will affirm.

Around 2 a.m. on September 10, 1982, Maria de la Luz Michael and her husband returned home after leaving a bar. Defendant Juan followed them and joined them at their home with other guests. At some point, Mrs. Michael’s nephew, Mario Ruiz, admired a chain which Juan was wearing, and Juan removed it and gave it to Mario to use.

About 6 a.m., Raul Huerta arrived, and a few minutes thereafter Mrs. Michael drove to the store with Huerta, her nephew and another friend in Juan’s automobile. Upon the group’s return, Juan demanded the keys to his *1009 car and the return of his chain. The group apparently entered the house without the chain being restored to Juan who then departed.

About 10 minutes later, Juan returned in a car which was driven by defendant Barbara. Mrs. Michael and Huerta were outside. Juan approached, demanded the return of his chain, and then pointed a gun and fired at the house. Mrs. Michael’s son, who was in the house, then called the police.

Juan demanded that Mrs. Michael or Huerta accompany him to find Ruiz. He then pointed the gun at Huerta who entered the car. Huerta appeared frightened and told Mrs. Michael to call the police. Huerta, sitting between Juan and Barbara, directed the men to the home of Ruiz’s mother 10 blocks away. With Juan still pointing the gun at Huerta, they exited the vehicle and Juan proceeded to force his way into the Ruiz home. There, Juan threatened to kill someone if the chain was not returned or he was not given $1,000. Barbara also demanded that the chain be restored to Juan. After Ruiz’s mother convinced defendants that she did not know where her son was, they left and drove Huerta back to the Michael home, Juan continuing to point the gun at Huerta during the drive.

The police arrived at the Michael residence and immediately apprehended Barbara. They found 12 rounds of .32 Colt ammunition in his pocket, the same caliber as that of a bullet found in the door of the Michael home. Juan was found hiding nearby.

Juan testified that he was angry about Ruiz’s failure to return his chain. He asked his cousin Barbara to assist him and to drive, because he, Juan, was too drunk to drive an automobile. Juan testified he had no gun that day and Huerta voluntarily entered the car to assist in recovering Juan’s property. Barbara similarly testified that Huerta accompanied them under no compulsion and that neither he nor Juan had a gun, nor did he, Barbara, have any bullets.

At the joint preliminary hearing, two interpreters were sworn. Huerta, testifying for the prosecution, required an interpreter, and one of the two who had been sworn was used for that purpose. The record does not show whose interpreter was so used.

Similarly, at the start of trial, two interpreters, Mona Rich and Enma Helou, were sworn to assist defendants. Enma Helou was thereafter used to interpret for Mrs. Michael, Ruiz’s mother, and Huerta. The record specifically indicates Rich remained to interpret for defendants while Helou interpreted for Huerta. Apparently, defendants shared her services during Helou’s assistance to two other witnesses as well. The record does not *1010 indicate which interpreter was assigned to act for which defendant. After a court trial, defendants were found guilty as charged and sentenced as described above.

I. The Right to an Interpreter

We turn first to the appropriate standard of review for violations of the right to an interpreter. (Cal. Const., art. I, § 14.) 1 We considered this right in People v. Aguilar (1984) 35 Cal.3d 785 [200 Cal.Rptr. 908, 677 P.2d 1198], but did not there adopt a particular standard.

In Aguilar, we stressed the importance of the presence of an interpreter throughout the proceedings for those who do not understand English. An interpreter is necessary so that a defendant can understand and fully participate in the proceedings when he is charged with a crime. There are three roles which an interpreter may play: (1) interpreting the questions to and answers of non-English-speaking witnesses; (2) advancing the “‘non-English-speaking defendant’s understanding of the colloquy between the attorneys, the witness, and the judge;’” and (3) enabling the non-English-speaking defendant to consult with his English-speaking attorney. (People v. Aguilar, supra, 35 Cal.3d at p. 790, quoting Chang & Araujo, Interpreters for the Defense: Due Process for the Non-English-Speaking Defendant (1975) 63 Cal. L.Rev. 801, 802.) Deprivation of an interpreter may cause the proceedings in significant part to be incomprehensible to a defendant.

There are three separate possible tests for reversal if an interpreter is improperly denied: (1) per se reversal, (2) the standard enunciated in Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18 [17 L.Ed.2d 705, 87 S.Ct. 824, 24 A.L.R.3d 1065], and (3) the test applied to violations of state constitutional rights (People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818, 836 [299 P.2d 243]). We will conclude that per se reversal is not appropriate and that a Chapman approach best serves the varied constitutional interests at issue.

Application of the per se standard requiring automatic reversal for a violation of a constitutional right normally is dependent upon the fundamental character of the right invaded or the impossibility of assessing prejudice. (People v. Bigelow (1984) 37 Cal.3d 731, 744-745 [209 Cal.Rptr. 328, 691 P.2d 994].) This test has not been applied to all deprivations of constitutional rights, even federal constitutional rights (see Chapman, supra, 386 U.S. at pp. 21-22 [17 L.Ed.2d at pp. 708-709]; People v. Taylor (1982)

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People v. Rodriguez, 728 P.2d 202, 42 Cal. 3d 1005, 232 Cal. Rptr. 132, 1986 Cal. LEXIS 298 (Cal. 1986).

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