P. v. Hernandez
This case returns to us on remand from the California Supreme Court in People v. Hernandez (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1095 (Hernandez). This court had found error in the superior court's refusal to permit trial counsel to show his client, defendant Jacob Townley Hernandez (Townley), a sealed declaration by a prosecution witness attesting to his own participation in an attempted murder, along with a sealed transcript of the witness's plea agreement proceeding. We held that the trial court had deprived Townley of his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel by denying him access to these materials. That holding was unchallenged by the People, and the high court expressed no opinion on this point. It did, however, reject this court's conclusion that the error was a structural defect subject to automatic reversal under Perry v. Leeke (1989) 488 U.S. 272. On the contrary, our Supreme Court held that an analysis of prejudice was required under the standard articulated in Strickland v. Washington (1984) 466 U.S. 668, and it accordingly remanded the case for that purpose.
Having received post-remand written [and oral] argument from the parties, we now conclude that no prejudice appears on the record before us. We also consider Townley's assertions that (1) he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation during cross-examination of the prosecution witness; (2) the prosecutor engaged in "egregious" misconduct at trial; and (3) the trial judge improperly commented on Flores's credibility. We find no prejudicial error on these grounds, however, and therefore must affirm the judgment.
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