Mello

A jury convicted defendant Joy Ann Mello of aiding and abetting the robbery and false imprisonment of a gas station attendant, and found that she was armed with a firearm while the offenses were committed. (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 236, 12022, subd. (a).) Defendant admitted having a prior serious felony conviction (Pen. Code, § 667, subd. (a)(1)) and was sentenced to a term in state prison.

On appeal, defendant, an African-American woman, contends the judge who presided over her trial irremediably tainted the proceeding by instructing prospective jurors during voir dire that, if they harbored racial bias against defendant because of her race, they should lie about it under oath and make up some other reason to be excused from serving as jurors on this case. The People concede that, although well-meaning, the judge’s instructions were “unacceptable.” They assert, however, that the error was harmless.

We, too, conclude that the judge erred in telling prospective jurors to lie; but we disagree with the claim of harmless error. As explained in the published portion of our opinion, although the judge’s motive was admirable (to exclude racial bias from the jury), his method…