People v. Valdez
135 Cal. Rptr. 3d 628
Cal. Ct. App.2011Background
- Valdez was convicted of two counts each of attempted murder and assault with a firearm, plus two counts of street terrorism and related enhancements.
- The drive-by shootings occurred on April 27, 2007, and July 29, 2007, involving rival gang T.L.F. and victims including Isaac Villa and Jonathan Kincaid.
- A gang expert relied on printouts from Valdez’s MySpace page to support the opinion that Valdez was an active gang member.
- The trial court admitted MySpace printouts for limited purposes: corroboration of a victim’s identification and foundation for the expert’s testimony.
- Valdez challenged authentication, hearsay, and 352 prejudicial concerns, which the trial court rejected; the court instructed the jury on limited use.
- On appeal, the court reversed the gang enhancement as to the second shooting; all other aspects of the judgment were affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authentication of MySpace page | People contends authentication supported by page contents and owner identifiers. | Valdez argues page could be misattributed and not authentically his. | Authentication found sufficient; page authenticated and admissible for limited purposes. |
| Hearsay and 352 prejudice | People asserts the limiting instruction cured any risk; evidence probative for gang context. | Valdez claims improper admission and prejudice outweighs probative value. | No error; evidence was circumstantial gang-context evidence, not hearsay, and properly limited. |
| Use of MySpace evidence for admissibility under Miranda/tape | People maintains proper use to establish gang involvement and foundation for testimony. | Valdez contends Miranda issues and improper custody/tape use. | Not intervening; issue resolved in the context of suppression challenges; evidence admissible under gang-minitis. |
| Sufficiency of gang enhancement on second shooting | People argues the enhancement supported by proven gang involvement. | Valdez contends lack of evidentiary basis for enhancement in second shooting. | Gang enhancement on second shooting reversed; remaining convictions affirmed. |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Beckley, 185 Cal.App.4th 509 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010) (authentication of web content requires only sufficient showing of authenticity)
- People v. Gibson, 56 Cal.App.3d 119 (Cal. Ct. App. 1976) (limiting instruction presumed effective against prejudicial error)
- People v. Holt, 15 Cal.4th 619 (Cal. 1997) (jury presumed to follow court instructions)
- People v. Cruz, 93 Cal.App.4th 69 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001) (admission of gang evidence; balancing probative value and prejudice)
- People v. Brophy, 122 Cal.App.2d 638 (Cal. Ct. App. 1954) (limits of curative instructions when prejudicial evidence is involved)
- People v. Allen, 77 Cal.App.3d 924 (Cal. Ct. App. 1978) (exclusion of prejudicial evidence under 352 general rule)
- People v. Karis, 46 Cal.3d 612 (Cal. 1988) (probative value versus prejudice in 352 analysis)
- U.S. v. Jackson, 208 F.3d 633 (7th Cir. 2000) (web content authenticity concerns; hacking risk acknowledged)
- St. Clair v. Johnny’s Oyster & Shrimp, Inc., 76 F.Supp.2d 773 (S.D. Tex. 1999) (evidence authenticity and reliability considerations in web material)
- Jazayeri v. Mao, 174 Cal.App.4th 301 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009) (circumstantial authentication of writings may suffice)