People v. Sanford

63 Cal. App. 3d 952, 134 Cal. Rptr. 155
California Court of Appeal·Decided November 18, 1976·No. Docket Nos. 14235, 14195·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

63 Cal.App.3d 952 (1976)
134 Cal. Rptr. 155

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
LONNIE DeCARLO SANFORD, Defendant and Appellant. THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
NICHOLAS SOSA, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket Nos. 14235, 14195.

Court of Appeals of California, First District, Division Four.

November 18, 1976.

*955 COUNSEL

David H. Fielding, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, and Bushnell, Caplan & Fielding for Defendants and Appellants.

Evelle J. Younger, Attorney General, Jack R. Winkler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Edward P. O'Brien, Assistant Attorney General, Clifford K. Thompson, Jr., and Ann K. Jensen, Deputy Attorneys General for Plaintiff and Respondent.

*956 OPINION

EMERSON, J.[*]

Lonnie DeCarlo Sanford and Nicolas Sosa (hereafter appellants) appeal from judgments convicting them of four counts of kidnaping for the purpose of robbery (Pen. Code, § 209)[1] and one count of robbery in the first degree (§ 211). Appellants were also found to have been armed and to have used a firearm during the commission of the offenses. (§§ 12022, 12022.5.) Their motions for a new trial on the kidnaping charges were denied.

Since appellants' contentions relate principally to questions of law, we shall not set forth the evidence in detail. It will be apparent from our discussion that "the Ayalas" and "the Egrmayers" were the victims of the kidnapings and the robbery.

(1a) Throughout their trial appellants were shackled with leg irons. Their motion to have the shackles removed was denied by the trial court.

In People v. Duran (1976) 16 Cal.3d 282 [127 Cal. Rptr. 618, 545 P.2d 1322], the Supreme Court held that a defendant cannot be subjected to physical restraints of any kind in the courtroom while in the jury's presence unless there is a showing of "manifest need for such restraints." It was further stated that "[t]he showing of nonconforming behavior in support of the court's determination to impose physical restraints must appear as a matter of record and, except where the defendant engages in threatening or violent conduct in the presence of the jurors, must otherwise be made out of the jury's presence. The imposition of physical restraints in the absence of a record showing of violence or a threat of violence or other nonconforming conduct will be deemed to constitute an abuse of discretion." (People v. Duran, supra, 16 Cal.3d 282, 291.)

The record in this case falls short of the kind of showing required by Duran. (2a) Since Duran was decided after the instant case was tried, disposition of the appeal, in this respect, depends upon whether, or to what extent, Duran should be given retroactive effect.

(3) Where a rule of decisional law is enunciated as an application of a previously existing principle, it must be applied in all open cases. *957 (People v. Heredia (1971) 20 Cal. App.3d 194, 199 [97 Cal. Rptr. 488].) Where a new rule of law is stated, however, the retroactivity of a decision must be established by the court faced with the application of that ruling. That part of Duran which holds that restraints may not be imposed in the absence of a manifest need for such restraints is an application of the rule established in People v. Harrington (1871) 42 Cal. 165. However, that portion of Duran which holds that there must be a record showing of the need for restraints enunciates a new rule of law.

(4) The critical factors for determination of retroactivity are (1) the purpose of the new rule, (2) the reliance by law enforcement authorities on the old rule, and (3) the effect on the administration of justice of retrospective application of the new rule. (Linkletter v. Walker (1965) 381 U.S. 618, 636 [14 L.Ed.2d 601, 612, 85 S.Ct. 1731].) However, "the factors of reliance and burden on the administration of justice are of significant relevance only when the question of retroactivity is a close one after the purpose of the new rule is considered." (In re Johnson (1970) 3 Cal.3d 404, 410 [90 Cal. Rptr. 569, 475 P.2d 841].) Although the California Supreme Court in In re Johnson, supra, noted and followed the United States Supreme Court's policy of giving retroactive effect to decisions bearing on rights which directly affect the integrity of the fact-finding process, such a policy does not compel this court to hold the record showing requirement of Duran retroactive. (2b) The Duran rule does not directly affect the "integrity of the fact-finding process" in that there has been no change in the long-standing rule of People v. Harrington, supra, 42 Cal. 165, regarding the use of physical restraints upon a showing of necessity. The new rule only indirectly affects the integrity of the fact-finding process; it only requires that the showing of necessity must be made of record, to make possible a more effective appellate review of the determination.

The problem of retroactivity is thus closely analogous to that presented by the requirement, announced by the United States Supreme Court in Boykin v. Alabama (1969) 395 U.S. 238 [23 L.Ed.2d 274, 89 S.Ct. 1709], that the taking of a plea of guilty be supported by a record showing a knowing waiver of constitutional rights. It was not a new requirement that the waiver of rights be knowing: only a record showing of such a waiver was newly required. Moreover, under the former procedure, a large number of constitutionally valid convictions had been obtained. Therefore, the Boykin requirement was given prospective application only. (See In re Tahl (1969) 1 Cal.3d 122, 135 [81 Cal. Rptr. 577, 460 P.2d *958 449].) Similarly, here the purpose of the new rule is to make available effective appellate review of determinations imposing physical restraints. Trial courts, prosecutors and custodial officers have properly relied on the former rule which did not require a record showing of necessity for restraints. The effect of retrospective application of Duran would be to allow successful attacks on old convictions in which actually there was ample cause for imposing restraints and where it would thus not have aided the defense in any way if a showing of such good cause had been put on the record.

Under ordinary rules of appellate procedure a judgment of a lower court is presumed to be correct; all intendments and presumptions are indulged to support the judgment on matters as to which the record is silent, and error must be affirmatively shown. (See Witkin, Cal. Procedure, § 235, p. 4225.) "This is not only a general principle of appellate practice but an ingredient of the constitutional doctrine of reversible error." (Id., citing Walling v. Kimball (1941) 17 Cal.2d 364, 373 [110 P.2d 58]; Coleman v. Farwell (1929) 206 Cal. 740 [276 P. 335]; Laymon v. Simpson (1964) 225 Cal. App.2d 50, 52 [36 Cal. Rptr. 859]; and Denham v. Superior Court (1970) 2 Cal.3d 557, 564 [86 Cal. Rptr. 65, 468 P.2d 193].)

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People v. Sanford, 63 Cal. App. 3d 952, 134 Cal. Rptr. 155 (Cal. Ct. App. 1976).

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