People v. Superior Court

Opinion

WERDEGAR, J.

When, if ever, does a prosecutor’s advocacy of third party interests in the course of a criminal discovery dispute rise to the level of a conflict of interest justifying recusal? Here, the trial court concluded that a prosecutor who advocates a position of benefit to a third party in a discovery dispute effectively assumes representation of that party and thus has a conflict supporting recusal.

In two companion cases issued today, we reaffirm that the standard of review for assessing a trial court determination concerning prosecutorial recusal is abuse of discretion.…