California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Watts, H035049, No. 78100 (Cal. App. 2010):
"As a court that reviews the conduct of counsel in hindsight, we are reluctant to second-guess tactical decisions made by trial counsel. [Citations.]" (People v. Andrade (2000) 79 Cal.App.4th 651, 660.) And we are more reluctant to do so in light of the trial court's determination at the Marsden hearing that counsel had "good reasons" for making his tactical decision to waive a jury trial. In this case, two mental health experts told counsel that defendant would not prevail at either a jury trial or a court trial, the trial court found that counsel had "good reasons" for waiving a jury trial, and the court
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conducted a full trial despite defendant's request to submit the matter on the mental health reports. We believe that counsel's tactical decision to waive a jury trial after reviewing the case and consulting with two mental health experts was an informed decision based on the information before him. (See Strickland v. Washington (1984) 466 U.S. 668, 689.) Accordingly, we conclude that defendant's due process rights were not violated when counsel waived a jury trial on defendant's behalf.
The order extending defendant's commitment to August 30, 2011, is affirmed.
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