Hollywood v. Superior Court

Does a prosecutor’s consulting with the makers of a major motion picture that is based on a criminal defendant’s story create a conflict sufficient to require recusal of the prosecutor when the defendant is finally brought to trial? Here, the lead prosecutor, bent on tracking down the fugitive defendant in this capital case, gave his case files to a screenwriter/director to make a movie based on the defendant’s alleged life and crimes and consulted with the filmmakers during its subsequent production. The defendant, Jesse James Hollywood, was ultimately captured in Brazil and extradited to the United States. He moved to recuse the prosecutor, arguing that the prosecutor’s involvement with Hollywood, the film industry, precluded his prosecution of Hollywood, the capital defendant. The trial court found no conflict warranting recusal, but the Court of Appeal independently reviewed the record and granted Hollywood’s petition for a writ of mandate, with one justice explaining the prosecutor had permitted “ ‘show business’ to cast an unseemly shadow over this case.”

In this case and its companion, Haraguchi v. Superior Court (2008) 43 Cal.4th 706 [ 76 Cal.Rptr.3d 250 , 182…