How have courts dealt with the appointment of a former deputy public defender as a bench officer?

This analysis is supported by People v. Barrera (1999) 70 Cal.App.4th 541. There, the defendant was charged with check forgery with allegations that he had suffered two prior strike convictions. The trial was conducted by a commissioner who, at the outset, advised the parties that he had been a deputy public defender until his recent selection as a commissioner. As a deputy public defender, the commissioner had stood by the defendant at the defendant's arraignment on the current forgery charge while the defendant entered a not guilty plea. (Id. at pp. 545-546.) The commissioner advised the parties that he would be happy to reassign the case if there was any objection; he then asked the parties if they agreed to have the commissioner hear the case, notwithstanding his earlier involvement as a deputy public defender. The defendant affirmatively assented on the record, and both attorneys indicated "No problem" with the commissioner's appointment as the bench officer in the case. (Id. at pp. 546-547.)

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