California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Clark, A148626 (Cal. App. 2017):
The Attorney General argues the evidence of defendant's involvement in the theft was strong "in light of her proximity to the scene of the theft, her dark clothing, and her closeness to the items related to the theft (the carjack, wig, and ski mask)." In evaluating prejudice, however, we may consider, "among other things, whether the evidence supporting the existing judgment is so relatively strong, and the evidence supporting a different outcome is so comparatively weak, that there is no reasonable probability the error of which the defendant complains affected the result." (People v. Breverman (1998) 19 Cal.4th 142, 177.) In the absence of evidence connecting the cell phone to defendant, the facts (1) she was pulled over less than half a mile from the scene of the crime,4 (2) was wearing dark clothing, and (3) was near items located in the car that may have been used in the crime do not constitute sufficiently strong evidence she knew the catalytic converter was stolen. Because it is a close case, we conclude it is "reasonably probable that a result more favorable to [defendant] would have been reached" had the inadmissible hearsay statements been excluded. (People v. Watson, supra, 46 Cal.2d at
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