Almanza

— Defendant appeals from a judgment arising out of sex crimes against a girl. The trial court made serious mistakes by failing to adequately inquire into and police the prosecutor’s conduct after the prosecutor threatened to prosecute the defense investigator and insinuated that defense counsel could also be prosecuted, in each case for reasons both parties now agree would have been groundless. Defense counsel also failed to do all he could to safeguard defendant’s right to the effective assistance of counsel when this occurred. We would reverse the judgment and remand for retrial with a defense team not under this sword of Damocles, but, as we explain in part I of our discussion, People v. Doolin (2009) 45 Cal.4th 390 [ 87 Cal.Rptr.3d 209 , 198 P.3d 11 ] (Doolin), compels us to affirm it. In part II of our discussion, we raise the question whether our Supreme Court intended Doolin to apply in these circumstances and suggest an alternative approach.

Procedural Background

An information charged Antonio Almanza with four counts of a nonforcible lewd or lascivious act on a child under age 14 (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)), three counts of forcible sodomy (§ 286, subd.…