People v. Byrket CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 2014, defendant David Scott Byrket was convicted by jury of one felony count of resisting an executive officer with force or violence, in violation of Penal Code section 69.1 The trial court suspended imposition of sentence and placed defendant on probation for three years, with the first 120 days to be served in jail as a condition of probation. In defendant’s first appeal, he claimed the trial court erred in admitting evidence that the internal affairs investigation into Deputy Geherty’s use of force did not result in any disciplinary consequences.2 Defendant also claimed the trial court’s instruction to the jury on that issue was erroneous and, cumulatively, the evidentiary and instructional errors deprived him of a fair trial. Finally, in accordance with Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531 (Pitchess), defendant sought to discover statements from five percipient law enforcement witnesses and he claimed the trial court erred in withholding those statements.3 On review, this court found the trial court abused its discretion when it denied defendant’s motion for discovery of the percipient witnesses’ statements, and we conditionally reversed the…