People v. Lopez
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed her carjacking conviction and sought a petition for habeas relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The court held that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that defendant used force to take the vehicle from its owners. In this case, both the surveillance video and the owner's testimony established that the owner held onto the vehicle and tried to stop the vehicle as defendant backed out of the parking space. The court rejected defendant's claim that the trial court erred in not instructing the jury on the lesser offenses of theft and the unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle. Finally, the court held that, because there is no reasonable probability that defendant would have achieved a more favorable result had defense counsel objected to the prosecution's purported misconduct, defendant was not deprived of effective representation. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
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