Court Must Review Carmona Evidence

The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana has issued an order in the case of Costa Mesa teenager Arthur Carmona that requires the Orange County Superior Court to consider new evidence in the case.

Attorneys for Carmona, 18, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in a controversial robbery case, filed an appeal in January arguing that the boy’s first lawyer failed to interview several witnesses that could have provided solid alibis.

The appeals court ruled that prosecutors be ordered to show why a defense attorney’s writ of habeas corpus seeking Carmona’s release should not be issued. A hearing date has not yet been set.

Carmona, who had no criminal record, was arrested two years ago and charged with the robbery of an Irvine juice bar and the robbery of a Costa Mesa restaurant that occurred two days apart. He was convicted of both crimes at a single trial.

The ruling bodes well for Carmona, according to defense attorney Jim Harris, a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Sidley & Austin, which is handling Carmona’s appeal.

“This is very unusual,” he said. “The great majority of these cases get dismissed offhand.”

Gary Schons, a senior assistant attorney general who is reviewing the case on behalf of the appeals court, agreed that the order was uncommon. “We did not expect it,” he said.

In addition to the order, the appeals court denied the attorney general’s request that the overall appeal be consolidated with the writ seeking Carmona’s release.

The appeal is highly critical of Carmona’s court-appointed lawyer for his first trial, alleging that he failed to interview a number of witnesses who could have supported Carmona’s alibi that he was nowhere near the juice bar when it was being held up.

The appeal attorneys also faulted Carmona’s original lawyer for failing to suppress evidence they said was questionable, such as police officers placing a hat on Carmona’s head believed to have been worn by the robber while witnesses identified him.