California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Tufono, F069908 (Cal. App. 2016):
Defendant's contention the trial court abused its discretion because it failed to exercise its discretion lacks support. People v. Lettice (2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 139, cited by defendant, is of no assistance to him, as it involved a situation in which the prosecution did not obtain permission to file the amended information, and the trial court was under the misimpression it was required to file it. (Id. at pp. 151-152.) Here, conversely, the prosecution brought a motion and the trial court heard from defendant's trial counsel before granting the motion. That the court remarked it thought the prosecution was free to amend to add the allegation does not translate to a misbelief that it lacked discretion to grant or deny the motion. To the contrary, the court expressly discussed the amendment with the parties, found no prejudice to defendant, and granted the motion.
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