In a 27-year-old cold murder case, the trial court abused its discretion and violated separation of powers principles by dismissing the state’s case. In finding a violation of defendant’s due process rights, the trial court violated separation of powers principles by second-guessing the investigating and charging decisions of the prosecutor. Noting the heart of the dispute was the boundary between negligent and investigative delay, the appellate court found that the People’s decision to delay the prosecution for DNA testing constituted investigative delay and provided strong justification under the balancing test of People v. Nelson (2008) 43 Cal.4th 1242. The case was remanded for the balancing of this strong justification against prejudice to the defendant.

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here: https://www4.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/D082909.PDF