Otte

Defendant was charged by information with possession of marijuana for sale, and sale or transportation of marijuana. (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 11359 & 11360, subd. (a).) His motion to discover the identity of an informant who had supplied information relied upon by the police in obtaining a search warrant for defendant’s residence and vehicle, was granted; when the People refused to disclose the identity of the informant, the court dismissed the information. The People appeal from the order of dismissal. (Pen. Code, § 1238, subd. (a)(8).)

The trial court determined as a matter of law that the informant did not give information to the police “in confidence” within the meaning of Evidence Code section 1041, subdivision (b)(1). At the time the informant provided to police the information about defendant, the informant had recently been in police custody as a suspect in a narcotics case and had been released or released without charges being filed, as a result of providing that information.

The primary appellate issue is whether the criminal suspect who furnished information about defendant did so “in confidence” within the meaning of Evidence Code section 1041, pertaining to…