CA Unpub Decisions

A jury convicted defendant Roberto Roque Cervantes of one count of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child under 10; three counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child under 10; and four counts of lewd acts on a child under 14. The court sentenced defendant to a term of 48 years to life in prison. Following contested restitution hearings, the court ordered a total of $9,072 in restitution for victim mental health benefits.
Defendant filed a notice of appeal from the restitution order.
We appointed counsel to represent him on appeal. Counsel filed a brief summarizing the proceedings and facts of the case and advised the court she found no arguable issues to assert on defendant’s behalf. To assist us in our independent review, counsels suggested the potential issue discussed below.
Counsel and this court both notified defendant that he could file a supplemental brief on his own behalf.

This court previously affirmed a trial court ruling that it lacked personal jurisdiction over Velocity Trade LLC and Advanced Markets LLC (collectively defendants). (Young v. Velocity Trade LLC et al. (Aug. 12, 2016, G052138) [nonpub. opn.] (Velocity I).) Prior to issuance of the remittitur, plaintiff Kurt Young filed a motion in the trial court seeking to stay the proceedings. Defendants eventually applied ex parte to take the motion off calendar and to enter an order dismissing the case, and that request was granted in its entirety. Young now asserts that defendants’ actions constitute a general appearance conferring personal jurisdiction on the trial court over defendants. We conclude that Young’s position is entirely incorrect. Accordingly, we affirm the order.

USA National Title Company, Inc. (USA National or USA) appeals from the trial court’s order denying its motion for judgment nothwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or a new trial after the jury rejected its breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of confidential information and trade secrets claims against its former vice president, Robert Edward Cayton. The jury also rejected Cayton’s cross-claim that USA National committed fraud in the inducement when it lured him to USA from his sales manager position at another title insurance company, but the jury found in Cayton’s favor on his breach of contract cross-claim against USA National, and awarded him $50,000 in damages.

Following the denial of his motion to suppress evidence (Pen. Code, § 1538.5), appellant and defendant Victor Mike Melendez (defendant) pled no contest to one count of possession of methamphetamine for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11378) and was sentenced to a three-year jail term. On appeal, defendant contends this court should independently review the police officer’s personnel file examined by the trial court pursuant to defendant’s motion (Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531) to determine whether any materials were withheld improperly from disclosure. The People do not object. Because our independent review of the police officer’s personnel file at issue reveals no relevant documents or information, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining to disclose any information from the file. Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.

After denial of his motion to suppress, appellant Allen Danny Guillen pled no contest to a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, for sale. In exchange, other charges were dismissed. Guillen filed a timely notice of appeal. Appellate counsel filed a brief pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436. We affirm.

Defendant and appellant Ernest Markeya Tillman jumped into the back seat of a car belonging to the victim while she was parked in a parking lot. He held a BB gun to her head and forced her to drive to get him money. When she told him she did not have any money, he became angry and hit her in the head. Defendant jumped out of the vehicle. Fingerprints matched to defendant were found on the car and the victim identified defendant from a six-pack photographic lineup (lineup).
Defendant was convicted of kidnapping to commit robbery (Pen. Code, § 209, subd. (b)(1)) and assault (§ 240). He also admitted in a bifurcated proceeding to having suffered a prior serious and violent offense (§§ 667, subds. (a), (c) & (e)(1), 1170.12, subd. (c)(1)) and having served a prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). Defendant was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 14 years to life plus a determinative term of 5 years to be served in state prison.

In December 2006, plaintiff and appellant, Deatra Dehorney, obtained two loans secured by deeds of trust on real property—the house where she has since lived. In 2007, her loans were securitized under third party pooling and servicing agreements (PSAs) which called for her deeds of trust to be assigned to securitized asset trusts. By 2014, she had gone into default, and her mortgage servicing provider warned it would initiate foreclosure proceedings. Roughly contemporaneous with the foreclosure warning, the mortgage holder’s nominee belatedly assigned one of the loans to one of the securitized asset trusts, seemingly in preparation to foreclose.Dehorney sued the assignee, the mortgage service provider, and the mortgage holder’s nominee to short circuit foreclosure. She sought to cancel the original deed of trust because she did not receive a truth in lending disclosure and sought to cancel the assignment because the nominee lacked authority to initiate foreclosure.

A jury found defendant and appellant Tony Ernest Wilson, guilty of (1) kidnapping ; (2) assault with a firearm ; (3) assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury ; and (4) torture (§ 206). In regard to the kidnapping, assault with a firearm, and assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, the jury found true the allegation that defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury (GBI). (§ 12022.7, subd. (a).) Also, as to the kidnapping, the jury found true the allegation that defendant personally used a firearm. In regard to the assault with a firearm, the jury found true the allegation that defendant personally used a firearm.

Marcos Cavalier pleaded guilty to smuggling a controlled substance into jail. (Pen. Code, 4573.) The People dismissed three charges of possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia as well as charges in a different case (case No. SCN350153) with a waiver under People v. Harvey (1979) 25 Cal.3d 754 (Harvey). The court suspended imposition of sentence and granted probation for three years, adding conditions that are the subject of this appeal. First, the court ordered Cavalier to submit his person, vehicle, residence, property, personal effects, computers and recordable media devices for search at any time with or without a warrant (condition 6n). Second, based on the Harvey waiver, the court imposed a $615 drug program fee. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11372.7.) Third, and again based on the Harvey waiver, it imposed a $205 laboratory analysis fee

This case represents an extraordinary use of resources in connection with an allegation by a professor at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) that an undergraduate student, Jonathan Dorfman, copied another student's answers on a midterm exam. The alleged cheating occurred in the spring of 2011. Litigation concerning the allegation commenced in the summer of 2011 and has continued almost unabated since. Dorfman's prior appeal of the trial court's order denying his petition for writ of mandate was adjudicated by this court over two years ago and we now consider UCSD's appeal of the judgment and writ subsequently entered by the trial court.

Appointed counsel for defendant Bennie Edward Dickinson asks this court to review the record to determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) Finding no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to defendant, we will affirm the judgment.

Appointed counsel for defendant Eric Phillip Samuelsen has asked this court to review the record to determine whether there exist any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) Finding no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to defendant, we affirm the judgment.
We provide the following brief description of the facts and procedural history of the case. (See People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, 110, 124.)

Appointed counsel for defendant John Alan Giromini has filed an opening brief that sets forth the facts of the case and asks this court to review the record and determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).)

Defendant Dennis David Glover pleaded no contest to battery with serious bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 243, subd. (d)) and the trial court sentenced him to four years in state prison. Defendant now contends his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to “inform him of [a] witness statement” before he entered into the plea agreement. Defendant also contends the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion to withdraw his no contest plea.
We conclude defendant never moved to withdraw his plea but also conclude trial counsel was ineffective for not disclosing a witness’s statement to defendant prior to defendant’s entering a no contest plea. Accordingly, defendant is entitled to withdraw his no contest plea. We reverse the judgment and remand the matter for further proceedings.