Case Summaries

The defendant, a prison guard at Pelican Bay State Prison, was charged with "setting up" inmates who had been convicted of criminal offenses involving children. It was alleged that the defendant and his supervisor would identify such persons to "the…

The Court of Appeal rejected the defendant's contention that the evidence was insufficient to support his second degree murder conviction as a matter of law. Here the defendant had made a "911" call at 3:45 a.m.. He reported that someone…

Under federal law, witness intimidation includes threatening and corruptly persuading to influence testimony, delay proceedings, or prevent a witness from testifying. Here, the witnesses' mother threatened to prosecute her daughter for perjury in the event that she testified against her…

The district court erred here in adjusting the appellant's sentence upward under the guideline for breach of public or private trust. That guideline was only supposed to cover acts done by those in a business or professional position of managerial…

The court reversed a conviction for violating Penal Code section 12020, subdivision (a)(1), possession of a flechette dart. It is illegal to possess a dart capable of being fired from a firearm "which measures approximately one inch in length, with…

The court upheld under Welfare and Institutions Code section 8102 the forfeiture of a firearm from a person who had been detained for examination due to his mental condition and who was subsequently determined to be a danger to others.…

The testimony of the firearm owner's psychotherapist at a weapons forfeiture hearing did not violate the psychotherapist privilege. The testimony was necessary to avert dangers to others (citing Tarasoff v. Board of Regents of the University of California (1976) 17…

Disagreeing with People v. King (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 472, the Second District here held that receiving stolen property is not a necessarily included offense of operating a "chop shop" in violation of Vehicle Code sections 250, and 10801. Because a…

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying probation because the trial court's finding that appellant had engaged in daily "moral turpitude" while running the chop shop was a reasonable inference from the information available at sentencing.

Where appellant staged induced traffic accidents in order to receive claims from insurance companies, the insurance companies were the direct victims of his fraud and therefore appropriate recipients of restitution orders. Moloy contended on appeal that the insured motorists were…

The girlfriend of Williams, a codefendant, surreptitiously taped his statements implicating him and Boone in an armed robbery. Over Boone's objections, the statements were received in evidence as statements against interest. Boone argued that admission violated his right under the…

A police officer had probable cause to search appellant's house after an informant pointed it out to him. The officer obtained a warrant, and personally executed it on the house that he had been shown. The warrant's description and address…

The court affirmed an order denying habeas corpus relief to a state prisoner challenging his death sentence on the grounds that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in the penalty phase of the jury trial. Counsel called only one witness…

The court reversed the determination of the district court that the state had failed to prove receipt of stolen government property. (18 U.S.C sec. 641.) The sole issue was whether a check for $3,000 drawn by the defendant on an…

As to the tainted warrant not being supported by probable cause, the court found that this also depended on whether the defendant's son had seen the earlier search.

Finally, the court ruled that if in fact the warrant was valid, then so was the search under the warrant. Many household items were kept in the outbuildings, so these outbuildings were in the curtilage, even if they were 100…

The court affirmed the district court's denial of claims presented by the spouses of two convicted drug traffickers. The claimants requested relief from forfeiture of proceeds of trafficking under an "innocent spouse" theory. The court held that no such theory…

The court struck a sentencing order of the district court requiring the defendant to "cash out" his Employee Retirement Security Act ("ERISA") pension so that he could make full restitution in a case in which he admitted embezzling money from…

The court affirmed convictions for manufacturing and uttering counterfeit obligations. The defendant, a citizen of Japan moved to suppress his statements to investigating officers and his consent to search on the grounds that: 1) under the 1963 Japan Convention, he…

As to the voluntariness of the Miranda waiver by a person whose native language is not English, the court noted that the factors considered include whether a written waiver was signed, whether the waiver was in the individual's native language,…

The court affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court's ruling denying a motion to suppress evidence, and remanded for further proceedings. The first question raised was whether when investigating a loud party, the police could search the…

The next issue concerned whether the defendant's son, who appeared at the doorstep after the sweep, voluntarily consented to the officer's next search of the cabin. The appellate court remanded this question for further proceedings, as the evidence did not…

The police next sought a warrant for the residence, which they used to search outbuildings that were up to 100 feet away from the residence. They found marijuana plants. The warrant was challenged on three grounds: 1) deliberate falsehood in…

The court found that the defense had offered no affidavits or other offers of proof in support of his claim that the warrant was in reckless disregard of the truth. A defendant's mere offer to prove this at the hearing…

The defendant's motion for new trial based on the government's non-disclosure of the informant's prior convictions, a prior false crime report made by her, and defense counsel's failure to locate this information through his own efforts, was properly denied. In…

The trial court did not err in permitting the informant to say that, in her opinion, the defendant was the person in the photographs taken by the camera in the bank. The informant had testified to meeting the defendant six…

In a federal prosecution for armed bank robbery, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to instruct the jurors under the Ninth Circuit Model Criminal Jury Instruction 4.10.1, that an informant's testimony should be viewed with caution.…

Depublished. Appellant entered a no contest plea to two drug offenses and admitted three prior prison terms as well as two prior juvenile adjudications and one prior "strike." The juvenile adjudications were for residential burglary. Pursuant to the plea bargain,…

There was no abuse of discretion where, in a prosecution for robbery, the court admitted appellant's prior misdemeanor conviction for sexual battery. Sexual battery is a crime of moral turpitude. The prior conduct was recent. Appellant's prior and present offenses…

In a prior trial, Charles had been charged and acquitted of stabbing Bonton, a witness who had testified against him about a 1980 robbery. However, admission of that evidence did not violate the Fifth Amendment prohibition against double jeopardy. Charles…