HAJJAJ

In this case, as in People v. Engram (2010) 50 Cal.4th 1131 [ 116 Cal.Rptr.3d 762 , 240 P.3d 237 ] (Engram), the trial court concluded that on the last day established by Penal Code section 1382 for bringing this Riverside County criminal proceeding to trial, there were no courtrooms or judges available to try the case. Defendant objected to any further continuance and, at his request, the court scheduled a hearing for the following day on his motion to dismiss the action. At the conclusion of that hearing, the trial court granted defendant’s motion, pursuant to section 1382.

On appeal, the People, represented by the district attorney, initially challenged the dismissal solely on the ground that the trial court should have transferred the case for trial to any judge assigned to a civil courtroom—the principal contention advanced in Engram by the district attorney and analyzed in our decision in that case.

In response to a request by the Court of Appeal for supplemental briefing, the district attorney additionally argued that the trial court’s dismissal of the action was improper in light of the circumstance that at 4:15 p.m. on the last permissible day for bringing the…