P.
P. v. Whitmarsh CA4/1
Opinion
Opinion
Aaron, J.
I.
INTRODUCTION
A jury found Matthew Evan Whitmarsh guilty of driving under the influence and
causing bodily injury (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a))1 (count 1) and not guilty of driving
with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent and causing bodily injury (§ 23153, subd. (b))
(count 2). The trial court suspended imposition of sentence and placed Whitmarsh on
five years' formal probation subject to various conditions, including that he serve 270
days in the custody of the sheriff.2 We affirm.
II.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
A. The trial
1. The trial court's dismissal of juror
After the court and the parties had selected a jury, a seated juror asked to be
excused. The juror stated that after she was selected as a juror the previous day, she had
reflected on a traumatic experience that she believed would interfere with her ability to
serve as a juror. The juror explained that her father had been an alcoholic who had died in
a car accident. According to the juror, her uncles suspected "that the police had planted
beer bottles in his truck," and "the autopsy . . . revealed that there was no alcohol in his