California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Soto, B292888 (Cal. App. 2020):
it. Defendant asks that we also "perform an independent review of the Pitchess materials themselves to determine whether any disclosures should have been made to the defense." Additional review is not required here. In the transcript of the in camera hearing, the court provided clear, thorough descriptions of each document it reviewed. Where "the court 'state[d] for the record what documents it examined,'" the transcript alone "is adequate for purposes of conducting a meaningful appellate review." (People v. Myles (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1181, 1209.) No additional review is necessary, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion.
Defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding of force likely to cause great bodily injury, as required for a conviction under section 245, subdivision (c) (section 245(c)). "In reviewing a claim for sufficiency of the evidence, we must determine whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime or special circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt. We review the entire record in the light most favorable to the judgment below to determine whether it discloses sufficient evidencethat is, evidence that is reasonable, credible, and of solid valuesupporting the decision, and not whether the evidence proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." (People v. Jennings (2010) 50 Cal.4th 616, 638.) "We presume in support of the judgment the existence of every fact the jury reasonably could deduce from the evidence." (Id. at pp. 638-639.)
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.