Case Summaries

Trial court erred by denying defendants’ Penal Code section 1172.6 petitions at the prima facie stage based on the jury’s intent to kill findings in the special circumstances verdicts. Anthony, Campbell, Flowers, and Price were convicted of first degree murder…

Assembly Bill No. 333 does not require reversing serious felony and strike priors premised on violations of Penal Code section 186.22. Defendants were convicted of several crimes stemming from a gang-related shooting, including active participation in a criminal street gang.…

Under Penal Code section 1172.6, where the People introduce without objection uncontroverted evidence from the preliminary hearing transcript that the defendant acted alone, and the defendant does not put forth any factual or legal theory in support of his petition,…

Opinion by: Justice Liu (unanimous decision) Trial court’s conclusion that Penal Code section 1170.95 (now 1172.6) petitioner’s second degree murder conviction was sustainable on a direct perpetrator theory was not supported by substantial evidence. After traveling with fellow gang members…

(ordered published 6/30/2023) The juvenile court did not abuse its discretion in denying placement of the minor with the adoptive parents of minor’s siblings. The minor was removed from parents at birth and placed with Defacto Parents. Shortly after reunification…

Because defendant’s upper term sentence was not unauthorized and an objection to the sentence would not have been futile, defendant forfeited his request for resentencing under the recent amendments to Penal Code section 1170 by failing to raise the issues…

Majority opinion: Justice Kagan delivered the opinion of the court, in which Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Kavanaugh, and Jackson joined. Concurring opinion: Justice Sotomayor filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Justice…

The denial of a request for a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) was an abuse of discretion where the trial court failed to adequately consider the summation of evidence presented by petitioner or appreciate the varying responses of battered women.…

Resentencing for noncompliance with revised Penal Code section 1170(b) is unwarranted only where the sentence remains legally valid under federal and state law, and the record clearly indicates the trial court would have imposed the upper term had it know…

Opinion by: Justice Corrigan (unanimous decision) Assembly Bill No. 1950 applies retroactively to all nonfinal cases. In 2018, defendant was charged with second degree robbery and faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Pursuant to a negotiated disposition, defendant…

A trial court’s inherent authority to correct an unauthorized sentence allows the court to modify a final judgment. In 2019, defendant pleaded guilty to two felonies (counts 1 and 3), and admitted committing count 3 while released on bail for…

Majority opinion: Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the court, in which Chief Justice Roberts, and Justices Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh joined. Concurring opinion: Justice Barrett joined the majority opinion in part and filed a separate opinion concurring in part…

Original trial court retained jurisdiction over motion to withdraw plea filed by a former probationer whose probation had been transferred from the county of conviction to his county of permanent residence. The supervision of defendant’s probation was transferred from the…

Majority opinion: Chief Justice Guerrero authored the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Corrigan, Liu, Kruger, Groban, Jenkins, and Evans concurred. Concurring opinion: Justice Kruger filed a concurring opinion, in which Justice Groban concurred. The force requirement for kidnapping…

Substantial evidence supported the juvenile court’s finding that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) did not apply. The minor was removed from parents and placed with paternal grandfather. Neither parent reported Indian ancestry and ICWA was found not to apply.…

Defendant’s claim that the trial court erred by failing to consider the low-term presumption of Penal Code section 1170(b)(6) was forfeited where defendant did not raise the issue, and trial counsel was not prejudicially ineffective for failing to raise the…

The offenses of discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and permitting another person to discharge a firearm from a vehicle, do not require that the shooter be inside the vehicle at the time of the shooting. At a store, Gaines…

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is consistent with the authority granted to Congress by Article I of the Constitution. In three challenges, a birth mother, foster and adoptive parents, and the State of Texas challenged ICWA on multiple constitutional…

A motion to set aside the information (Pen. Code, § 995) was the appropriate vehicle to challenge a gang enhancement allegation where the statute was amended by Assembly Bill No. 333 after the preliminary hearing. Petitioner was charged with various…

The U.S. Constitution permits retrial when a conviction is reversed because the prosecution occurred in the wrong venue and before a jury drawn from the wrong location. Smith was indicted in the Northern District of Florida for theft of trade…

CALCRIM Nos. 521, 522, and 570, taken together, adequately state the law as to how provocation can reduce first degree murder to second degree murder, and reduce murder to voluntary manslaughter. Appellant and the victim agreed to fight. When the…

There was insufficient evidence of asportation to support the jury’s aggravated kidnapping finding under the One Strike law where the rape victim was moved from one bathroom stall to another. A jury convicted defendant of forcible rape after he sexually…

Justice requires, in unusual circumstances that cast doubt on juvenile court’s findings, that an evidentiary hearing be granted on a section 388 petition. The minor was removed from Mother when he tested positive for amphetamines at birth. Father was incarcerated…

Penal Code section 29800(a)(1), possession of a firearm by a felon, does not violate the Second Amendment. Johnson initiated a verbal and physical altercation with Odell at a motel where they stayed as separate guests. Johnson ultimately obeyed the motel…

A request for pretrial diversion (Pen. Code, § 1001.36) must be made before attachment of jeopardy at trial or the entry of a guilty or no contest plea, whichever occurs first. In 2018, defendant was charged with resisting an executive officer…

Despite mandatory language in her plea agreement that defendant “must expect” deportation if she was not a U.S. citizen, the evidence corroborated that defendant prejudicially did not meaningfully understand the consequences of her plea, requiring the trial court to grant…

Because the trial court had no jurisdiction to grant defendant’s motion to vacate his sentence, the order denying relief was not appealable. In 2001, defendant was sentenced to 230 years to life as a three strikes offender. The conviction was affirmed…

For purposes of Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6, governing the timeliness of a peremptory challenge to a superior court judge, a habeas proceeding can be a continuation of a criminal action where the issues raised are related to the criminal…

Governor’s decision reversing grant of parole was not supported by “some evidence” of current dangerousness. Van Houten is serving concurrent sentences of seven years to life for two 1969 murders committed with other members of a cult led by Charles Manson.…

Considering changes to the law governing gang offenses, the trial court lacked substantial evidence to support its finding that defendant’s prior conviction under Penal Code section 186.22(a) was for a serious felony. Farias and Miranda were convicted of attempted murder…