Murder, assault and robbery suspect Richard Dean continued his change of plea sfor three cases to this morning. Before that could be asdressed, Dean requested a Mardsen hearing. When the courtroom opened, Deputy Public Defender Ben McLaughlin was standing with Dean. This means the Marsden motion requested by Dean was denied.
Judge Christopher Wilson said he was not prepared to accept a plea from Dean today. Judge Wilson said Dean needed more time to discuss the plea with his attorney. Trial confirmation for 3/12 and jury trial for 3/23 remain set.
Only the homicide case was on calendar today so I am guessing the plea offer was for the homicide case and the robbery and assault cases would be dismissed.
Deputy District Attorney Stacey Eads is the prosecutor for this case. The People's offer will remain open until trial confirmation.
Mr. McLaughlin commended Ms. Eads for being diligent regarding provided him discovery. He wanted to put on record that he just learned that a CD had not been forwarded by his office to the defense DNA expert and apologized to Ms. Eads for previously suggesting that certain discovery had not been provided. Today in court, Ms. Eads gave Mr. McLaughlin a paper copy the DOJ had provided of DNA and fingernail scrappings from the victim. An email copy had been provided previously but could not be opened due to technical and security lock on the document.
Victim in the homicide case is Anthony Pennucci.
Two women, one who is Dean's sister were in court today.
From Shouse law:
A Marsden motion is a legal document, brought by a defendant and filed with the court, for the purpose of firing a defendant's court-appointed attorney. The court considers and rules on the motion at a "Marsden Hearing."
The name of the motion comes from a real California court case, People v. Marsden. And, the motion can be filed in either misdemeanor or felony cases.
A defendant typically brings the motion because he wants to fire his public defender for one of the following reasons:
inadequate or ineffective assistance of counsel,legal malpractice, or a conflict between the attorney and defendant.
A Marsden motion is the only way by which a defendant in a California criminal case can fire his court-appointed lawyer.
A Marsden hearing is when the judge rules on the Marsden motion. If he grants the motion, the public defender is removed from the case and the judge will appoint a new one. If the judge denies the motion, then the public defender remains as the defendant's lawyer.
Please note that "ineffective assistance of counsel" refers to situations where an attorney's performance is so flawed that it deprives the defendant of his Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.
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https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2020/03/will-murder-suspect-richard-dean.html?m=1
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