Muhammad

It is a general rule that, outside of a contempt proceeding, trial courts lack inherent power to impose a monetary sanction against an attorney for misconduct in court. The authority to impose such a sanction must be found in a statute. This has been the declared law in California for at least the past 25 years. (See Bauguess v. Paine (1978) 22 Cal.3d 626 [ 150 Cal.Rptr. 461 , 586 P.2d 942 ].) We apply it here in the context of a monetary fine levied against a prosecutor for exercising jury peremptory challenges in violation of the constitutional principles laid down in People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 258 [ 148 Cal.Rptr. 890 , 583 P.2d 748 ], and other cases.

In this case, the court found that the prosecutor had improperly exercised peremptory challenges, leading to a mistrial and dismissal of the venire panel. Acting under Code of Civil Procedure section 177.5, the court assessed a $1,500 sanction against her. (All statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure unless otherwise stated.) The People and the prosecutor seek appellate review of the finding and the order. We find sufficient support in the record for the finding. But it is a requisite to…