People v. La Motte

Pamela A. La Motte appeals from an order by which she was admitted to probation after a jury found her guilty of welfare fraud (receiving “aid for a child not entitled thereto” [Welf. & Inst. Code, § 11483]).

The verdict of guilty was based on evidence that appellant had received from the Santa Cruz County Social Welfare Department benefits under the program for aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) although appellant’s daughter, whose supposed presence in the household qualified appellant for aid, was actually absent.

Appellant contends that the trial court’s failure “to use a jury panel selected by law” denied her constitutional right to a jury trial. The argument is that the jury list for Departments 1 and 3 of the Santa Cruz County Municipal Court reflected a broader cross-section of the community than did the superior court list because the former “was drawn from a voter pool that included many more persons of Mexican or Latin American descent with Spanish surnames . . . , more young people and more low income persons . . . .” Appellant argues that she is entitled to a new trial because the municipal court list was not used even though it was…