Does a victim advocate influence the testimony of a witness?

(People v. Spence, supra, 212 Cal.App.4th at pp. 517-518), the record does not suggest the victim advocate did anything to influence J.'s testimony. "It would also have been appropriate for the trial court ... to inform the jurors that the witness 'was entitled by law to be attended by a support person during her testimony,' and to admonish them that 'the support person was "not the witness."' [Citation.] In any case, since the trial court in this case gave the standard instruction that the jury must base its decision solely on the evidence received at trial, without being swayed by sympathy or prejudice, it does not appear that any claim of prejudice from the support person's presence is available on this record. [Citation.]" (Id. at p. 518; see People v. Myles (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1181, 1215.)

Defendant contends the support person "sat next to and touching" J. while J. testified. To the contrary, there is no suggestion in the record of any touching during testimony.¹⁹ Nor is there any indication the support person "displayed emotion or gestures suggesting to the jury that she believed [J.'s] account." (People v. Myles, supra, 53 Cal.4th at p. 1214.) Although the support person put her arm around J. and possibly hugged her while walking J. out of the courtroom at the recess, the trial court had the support person admonished not to do so anymore. Defense counsel did not request that the jury be instructed to disregard whatever they saw, or ask for any other type of curative admonition.

It is significant in this case that the support person did not sit right next to J. until J. asked in front of the jury if "Anna" could come with her. J.'s distress had to have been apparent to jurors, since it is evident even on a written transcript. Under the circumstances, jurors would have interpreted the support person's close proximity to J. and even the hug as an attempt to give J. emotional support, rather than as somehow bolstering or vouching for J.'s credibility. (See People v. Patten, supra, 9 Cal.App.4th at

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