People v. Sharma CA1/4

I. BACKGROUND

In October 2017, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office filed a complaint charging Sharma with two counts of raping Ashley J. on or about July 22, 2017: rape of an intoxicated person (Pen. Code, § 261, subd. (a)(3)1, count one) and rape of an unconscious person (§ 261, subd. (a)(4)(A), count two). Sharma waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing and arraignment and in September 2019, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office filed an information charging him with the same two counts. Although he entered a general waiver of his right to a speedy trial, he withdrew the waiver in July 2021. The court continued his case a number of times until it heard pre-trial motions and commenced trial in the first quarter of 2023,

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 leading to a jury verdict in early May 2023. Sharma moved to dismiss his case twice, and the trial court denied both motions. A. The Trial Evidence At trial, the evidence showed to a mathematical certainty that Sharma’s DNA was present in sperm taken from vaginal swabs of Ashley J. obtained the day after the incident.2 Accordingly, the focus of the trial was on whether Ashley…