Serrano
Serrano v. Superior Court of L. A. Cnty.
Opinion
lead Opinion
Lui, J.
*763 Defendant Manuel Serrano, charged with the sale and transportation of a controlled substance, moved for in camera review and pretrial disclosure of potential impeachment material the district attorney informed him is contained in the personnel file of the arresting deputy, who is expected to testify at Serrano's trial. The superior court denied the motion. Serrano petitioned for writ of mandate. We grant the petition and direct the superior court to vacate its order denying Serrano's motion and enter a new and different order granting the motion.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY
A. Serrano's Detention and Arrest
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Adam Halloran was driving his marked patrol vehicle northbound on Interstate 5 when he spotted a Jeep in the number 2 lane, hugging the left side of the lane. 1 When the Jeep passed a semitrailer, the rear tire crossed over the line into the next lane (an alleged violation of Veh. Code, § 21658, subd. (a) ). After the Jeep crossed over the line into the next lane a second time, Halloran performed a traffic stop. Halloran identified the Jeep's driver as Serrano and the sole passenger as Serrano's cousin, Homar Romero.