In People v. Pettie (2017) 16 Cal.App.5th 23 the gang enhancements were reversed under People v. Sanchez (2016) 63 Cal.4th 665 because the prosecution gang officer testified to testimonial hearsay, specifically, “numerous contacts between police officers and defendants based on police reports he did not author…, [and which] were made to document completed crimes such as assaults, intimidation, vehicle theft, and firearms offenses.”
Although the trial court instructed the jury to limit its consideration of such evidence to an evaluation of the basis of the gang officer’s opinion, “instructing the jury not to consider the testimony for its truth cannot avoid or cure the confrontation violation.” (People v. Pettie (2017) 16 Cal.App.5th 23, 64.)
Compare People v. Tran (Aug. 29, 2022, S165998) [pp. 22- 24] [per Crawford v. Washington (2004) 541 U.S. 36 and its successors the confrontation clause applies only to “testimonial” hearsay statements and, therefore, “the Sixth Amendment protections under the Aranda-Bruton doctrine, whatever their reach before, are confined to testimonial statements”
See also generally:
PG X(E)(19)(1.1) Inability Of Limiting Instructions To Cure Evidentiary Error
PG X(E)(19)(1.2) Jurors’ Inability To Perform Mental Gymnastics
