Salisbury v. County of Orange

Opinion

SILLS, P. J. —

Chad Salisbury was convicted of felony assault with a hate crime enhancement. He obtained a new trial based on newly discovered evidence and the ineffective assistance of his counsel, an Orange County deputy public defender. On retrial, he was acquitted. Salisbury then brought this action for legal malpractice against the public defender.

The trial court bifurcated the issue of Salisbury’s actual innocence and tried it without a jury; it found Salisbury had not met his burden of proof and entered judgment against him. On appeal, Salisbury contends he was entitled to a jury…