A jury convicted Craney of violating Penal Code section 273a, subdivision (b), a misdmeanor. The trial court found that the verdict was contrary to the law and evidence, and dismissed the case under section 1385. The prosecutor appealed, and in this opinion, the appellate court affirmed the dismissal. In the published portion of the opinion, the court agreed that the order was appealable. A defendant who has been convicted of a jury is not in the same situation as a defendant acquitted by the court. A post-conviction section 1385 dismissal for insufficiency of the evidence may be appealed because section 1238 authorizes such an appeal and there is no double jeopardy problem.
Case Summaries