The People v. Saydyk CA3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 24, 2013
DocketC069896
StatusUnpublished

This text of The People v. Saydyk CA3 (The People v. Saydyk CA3) 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
The People v. Saydyk CA3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 9/24/13 P. v. Saydyk CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Shasta) ----

THE PEOPLE, C069896

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. Nos. 10F2417, 11F1359) v.

JACOB MATTHEW SAYDYK,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Jacob Matthew Saydyk appeals his conviction for possession of methamphetamine, claiming the prosecutor committed misconduct by (1) referencing defendant’s postarrest silence in cross-examination and closing arguments, and (2) eliciting evidence of defendant’s admissions of being a methamphetamine addict in violation of Miranda.1 We find the claimed errors forfeited for failure to object specifically on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct and to request the trial court

1 Miranda v. Arizona (1996) 384 U.S. 436 [16 L.Ed.2d 694] (Miranda).

1 admonish the jury. Moreover, even of the claims that were not forfeited, we find no prosecutorial misconduct. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND Early in the morning of March 3, 2010, Shasta County Sheriff’s Department Deputies Mike Tumelson and Jon Ruiz responded to a complaint about loud music at a residence. At the scene, the deputies approached defendant and Ariel Lovell, who were standing in the parking lot near the residence. The deputies ran a check for wants, warrants, or holds on defendant and confirmed a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Tumelson handcuffed and searched defendant incident to the arrest. In the right-hand coin pocket of defendant’s pants, Tumelson found a bag containing a usable amount of methamphetamine. When Tumelson pulled the methamphetamine out of the pocket, defendant spontaneously said the methamphetamine was not his and he had borrowed the pants. Defendant did not identify who had lent him the pants, and absent any other indication the pants did not belong to defendant, Tumelson did not investigate defendant’s claim further. Defendant testified he had been laying sod all day, and when he got off work he borrowed his friend Branson Lovell’s pants so he could wear clean clothes to visit another friend. He did not know Branson used methamphetamine and did not know there was methamphetamine in the pants pocket. He did not tell Tumelson he had borrowed the pants before the search but told him after Tumelson found the methamphetamine. He did not tell Tumelson to whom the pants belonged because he did not feel there was any need. Defendant testified he had never used methamphetamine and prior to his arrest had only seen it on television shows. Defendant admitted that in November 2010 he had been involved in a vehicle accident while he was under the influence of alcohol. Tumelson investigated that accident. Defendant acknowledged he initially lied to Tumelson and

2 claimed he was not the driver but later admitted he was the driver.2 Defendant admitted he had an alcohol problem. Tumelson testified in rebuttal that he had other exchanges with defendant during which they had spoken about defendant’s methamphetamine use. In January 2011 Tumelson was dispatched to defendant’s mother’s home on a disturbance call related to defendant’s behavior at the home. Tumelson spoke with defendant regarding his argumentative and confrontational behavior, and defendant admitted he had a methamphetamine addiction. Tumelson also spoke with defendant about community drug treatment programs. Defendant exhibited symptoms of being under the influence, but Tumelson did not investigate further. He was able to get defendant to leave his mother’s home and stop the disturbance. Defendant was not in custody at the time of the conversation. Tumelson and defendant also had a conversation in February 2011 when Tumelson responded to a report of a possible burglary in progress. Another officer had detained defendant in the back of a patrol car and Tumelson asked if defendant had sought treatment for his addiction. Defendant was charged with possession of methamphetamine. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11377, subd. (a).) The complaint further alleged he had a prior serious felony conviction. (Pen. Code, § 1170.12.) Following trial, a jury found defendant guilty of possession of methamphetamine, and in bifurcated proceedings, the court found the prior strike allegation true. Separately, a plea agreement was reached in case No. 11F1359. As part of that plea, the parties agreed to a term of nine years in state prison on case No. 11F1359 and one year four months on case No. 10F2417 (one-third the midterm, doubled pursuant to the strike).

2 The November 30, 2010, accident was the subject of a separate criminal case, case No. 11F1359. The substantive facts underlying that case are not relevant to any issue on appeal and are not recounted here.

3 DISCUSSION I Defendant contends his conviction must be reversed because prosecutorial misconduct, which violated “the spirit and the letter of Doyle v. Ohio (1976) 426 U.S. 610,” deprived him of due process. He complains the prosecutor committed misconduct by repeatedly attempting to elicit evidence of defendant’s postarrest silence during cross- examination of defendant and rebuttal examination of Tumelson, and emphasizing that postarrest silence in closing argument. He claims the prosecutor committed misconduct by violating a court order to limit the examination of Tumelson on defendant’s failure to identify the owner of the pants to what defendant said and did at the scene of the arrest. Defendant also argues the prosecutor committed further misconduct by “revisiting the issue of [defendant’s] post-arrest silence” in closing argument. Defendant argues these references penalized him for invoking his constitutional right to remain silent. We will conclude defendant forfeited any objection he might have had to the claimed prosecutorial misconduct, and in any event, there was no misconduct. Forfeiture of Misconduct Claims by Failure to Object “It is misconduct for a prosecutor to violate a court ruling by eliciting or attempting to elicit inadmissible evidence in violation of a court order. [Citation.] It is also misconduct for a prosecutor to make remarks in opening statements or closing arguments that refer to evidence determined to be inadmissible in a previous ruling of the trial court.” (People v. Crew (2003) 31 Cal.4th 822, 839 (Crew).) To show prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct, a defendant must show (1) as a matter of federal constitutional law, the prosecutor’s behavior comprised a pattern of conduct so egregious that it violated due process, i.e., it rendered the trial fundamentally unfair (People v. Bennett (2009) 45 Cal.4th 577, 594-595), or (2) as a matter of state law, the prosecutor engaged in deceptive or reprehensible methods to attempt to persuade either the court or the jury, and it is reasonably probable the defendant would have fared better had the misconduct not

4 occurred (id. at p. 595; People v. Milner (1988) 45 Cal.3d 227, 245). Furthermore, to raise prosecutorial misconduct on appeal, a defendant must timely and specifically object and request a proper admonition. (People v. Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 820 (Hill); People v.

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The People v. Saydyk CA3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-people-v-saydyk-ca3-calctapp-2013.