Salisbury

Chad Salisbury was convicted of felony assault with a hate crime enhancement. He obtained a new trial based on newly discovered evidence and the ineffective assistance of his counsel, an Orange County deputy public defender. On retrial, he was acquitted. Salisbury then brought this action for legal malpractice against the public defender.

The trial court bifurcated the issue of Salisbury’s actual innocence and tried it without a jury; it found Salisbury had not met his burden of proof and entered judgment against him. On appeal, Salisbury contends he was entitled to a jury determination of his actual innocence because the decision rests on the credibility of witnesses. We agree and reverse.

FACTS

Salisbury was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, plus enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury and the commission of a hate crime. The charges arose out of the August 1995 beating of Mark David following a rock concert in Orange. At trial, Salisbury was represented by an Orange County deputy public defender. A jury found him guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and the hate crime enhancement; it found him not guilty of the infliction of great bodily injury.…