People v. Hardy
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Hardy was convicted of five criminal counts for firing a semi-automatic pistol in the direction of an occupied vehicle while standing in an Oakland street. An Oakland undercover officer observed Hardy firing a handgun which was corroborated by a liquor store’s surveillance video and other evidence. Most of Hardy’s 236-month prison sentence was based on his conviction for assault with a semi-automatic firearm, count 5. The only unambiguous evidence that the firearm was semi-automatic was an audio recording that had been sent to the Oakland Police Department by a third-party service, “Shotspotter.”
The court of appeal reversed as to count 5. The trial court erred in admitting the Shotspotter evidence without first conducting an evidentiary hearing to assess its scientific reliability pursuant to the Kelly/Frye precedent and the error was prejudicial. The court may reinstate that conviction after conducting a Kelly/Frye hearing if it concludes the Shotspotter evidence was admissible. The court rejected as “harmless” any errors committed when the preliminary hearing magistrate barred defense counsel’s cross-examination of the undercover officer about the officer’s location while he observed Hardy fire the weapon after the officer claimed an official privilege to withhold the information and in the court’s response to a jury question during deliberations.
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