P. v. Martin CA2/5
A jury convicted John Martin (defendant) of assault with a deadly weapon. The conviction arose from an incident in which defendant confronted a woman on the street with a knife, walked her into a nearby liquor store, and stabbed a store employee after being asked to leave. The events inside the liquor store were captured on surveillance video, and the police also recovered the knife and a bloody shoe believed to be defendant’s. The main issues we consider are whether the prosecution committed misconduct during closing argument by stating the knife and shoe were available to the defense for forensic testing, and whether the trial court erred by not convening a Marsden hearing. We also address two asserted sentencing errors, one of which requires a remand for further proceedings.
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