C.A. 2nd;
B261606

The Second Appellate District reversed a judgment. In the published portion of its opinion, the court held that a gang expert's reliance on “field identification” (FI) cards prepared by non-testifying officers violated the confrontation clause.

Carlos Iraheta was tried before a jury on a charge, among others, of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle. The prosecution argued that Iraheta was an Inglewood 13 gang member who shot at victim Michael Orozco because he believed Orozco to be a rival gang member. The prosecution offered evidence that Iraheta had previously been found in the company of Inglewood 13 gang members. Police Officer Jose Barragan testified as an expert on the Inglewood 13 gang. In preparing for trial, Barragan reviewed a police report regarding a prior incident in which officers had interviewed, and generated FI cards for, several individuals found there. Barragan testified that, based on his review of the FI cards, four of the five males detained with Iraheta during that incident were self-admitted Inglewood 13 gang members. The officers who prepared the FI cards did not testify.