People v. Gonzales

address the issue of when the prohibiting of the testimony of a witness in a criminal case is an appropriate sanction for a violation of a discovery obligation. (See Pen. Code, § 1054 et seq.) As we shall explain, we conclude that prohibiting the testimony of a witness is not an appropriate discovery sanction in a criminal case absent a showing of significant prejudice and of willful conduct.

A jury found appellant Heliodoro Salcedo Gonzales guilty of having committed the following crimes on or about February 1, 1992: the kidnapping of Juan Trujano (Pen. Code, § 207, subd. (a); count 2); the robbery of Trujano (§211; count 3); the kidnapping of Trujano for robbery (§209, subd. (b); count 1); the burglary of a dwelling (§ 459; count 4); the robbery of Hermenegildo Valencia-Campos in that dwelling (§§211, 212.5; count 5); and the receiving of stolen property (§ 496, former subd. 1; count 6). The jury also found appellant guilty of having committed the following crimes on or about January 2, 1992: the robbery of Onais Arroyo (§211; count 7); the robbery of Serafín Garibay (§211; count 8); and the attempted robbery of Ramon Arroyo-Muniz (§§ 664, 211; count 9).

The jury…