P. v. James
A jury found defendant Frank James guilty on one of four counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14. (Pen. Code, 288, subd. (a).) He was sentenced to the upper term of eight years in prison. Defendant contends that the trial court committed judicial misconduct by disparaging defense counsel and aligning himself with the prosecution. He argues that it deprived him of federal and state constitutional rights to a fair trial, due process, and effective assistance of counsel. His claim is forfeited and, in any event, without merit. Defendant also contends that the imposition of the upper term sentence for his conviction violated his constitutional rights to a jury trial and due process of law, pursuant to Blakely v. Washington (2004) 542 U.S. 296 [159 L.Ed.2d 403] and Cunningham v. California(2007) 549 U.S. [166 L.Ed.2d 856] (Cunningham). Court disagree.
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