Cook

The Orange County District Attorney prosecuted Richard Cook and a codefendant for joint possession of 2.29 grams of cocaine (Health and Saf. Code, § 11350) and possession of the same cocaine for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351). Although early in the proceedings a prosecutor admitted the possession for sale count was weak, he and his successors repeatedly refused to dismiss it so a pretrial disposition could be effected, much to the annoyance of Cook’s attorney and the trial judge. Ultimately, the matter was tried to a jury for several days. At the conclusion of the prosecution’s case the trial court acquitted Cook of possession for sale (Pen. Code, § 1118.1) and referred him to a drug diversion program (Pen. Code, § 1000) on the remaining count. This was the disposition Cook had sought from the beginning.

As penance for his intransigence, the trial court ordered the district attorney to pay Cook $3,000 in sanctions pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 128.5. The court found Cook was prosecuted on a count “without a supporting basis in law or fact,” and as a result was forced to bear the additional attorney’s fees associated with a jury trial. The district…