Solorzano

Not once, but twice, José Luis Solórzano stood trial on charges arising out of the robberies of four stores. While mental competence proceedings were pending before his first trial, the court (Hon. Roger D. Randall) refused to hear his Marsden motion on the rationale that “different rules” applied to those proceedings and he could “raise that issue later if found competent.” A jury found him guilty as charged of four counts of second degree robbery and found true all but one of the special allegations in the information (personal knife uses in three of the four counts and five strike priors, one serious felony prior, and one prison term prior in each count). (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 212.5, subd. (c), 667, subd. (a), 667, subds. (b)-(j), 667.5, subd. (b), 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d), 12022, subd. (b)(1).) The court’s refusal to hear the Marsden motion on the issue of whether appointed counsel was rendering effective assistance at his mental competence hearing violated due process, so we reversed the judgment, ordered a new trial, and addressed none of his other issues. (People v. Solorzano (2005) 126 Cal.App.4th 1063 [ 24 Cal.Rptr.3d 735 ],)

At Solórzano’s second trial, following…