Separation of Powers

Name: Armstrong v. Superior Court
Case #: H053298
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 6 DCA
Opinion Date: 03/27/2026

The Court of Appeal concludes that PC 1000.7 grants the probation department, not the trial court, the authority to determine if a defendant meets the criteria for deferred entry of judgment; that PC 1000.7 does not violate the separation of powers doctrine by allowing the probation department to make such a determination; and that probation did not abuse its discretion by finding appellant ineligible for deferred entry of judgment because he lived out of county.

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here:

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Name: In re Bergstrom
Case #: F090041
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 5 DCA
Opinion Date: 03/26/2026

PC 292, which deems specific sexual offenses to be felony offenses involving "acts of violence" and "great bodily harm" for purposes of bail exceptions, is constitutionally valid and does not constitute an impermissible legislative extension of constitutional terms. Because these terms are not defined in the California Constitution, the Legislature may clarify their scope, including by deeming certain sexual offenses to qualify. PC 292 is consistent with voter intent to expand bail exceptions for sexual offenses, and does not conflict with existing law distinguishing “great bodily harm” from “great bodily injury.”

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here:…

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Name: People v. Superior Court (Mitchell) (2023) 94 Cal.App.5th 595
Case #: B326653
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 6
Opinion Date: 08/16/2023
Subsequent History: Review granted 11/21/2023 (S281950)

A superior court’s order reducing a felony “wobbler” to a misdemeanor is unauthorized under Penal Code section 17(b) when made after the preliminary hearing and before trial. The first count in a felony information charged defendant with a wobbler as a felony—resisting an officer in violation of Penal Code section 69(a). On the day that trial was to begin, the superior court reduced the felony wobbler to a misdemeanor over the People’s objection. The People petitioned for a writ of mandate directing the superior court to vacate its order. Held: Petition granted. Section 17(b) permits the trial court to reduce a…

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Name: McKneely v. Superior Court (2023) 91 Cal.App.5th 1232
Case #: A166307
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 1 DCA
Division: 2
Opinion Date: 05/25/2023

Penal Code section 1372(c)(2), which requires a report from a mental health professional before a trial court may reject a certificate of restoration to competency, does not violate separation of powers. McKneely was found incompetent to stand trial and ordered committed to DSH. DSH filed a certificate of restoration to competency with the committing court, supported by a psychologist’s report. McKneely’s trial counsel urged the trial court to reject the certificate, based on counsel’s own declaration that she believed her client was not competent. The trial court concluded that it lacked authority to do so, because section 1372(c)(2) (effective 6/30/22)…

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Name: Williams v. Superior Court
Case #: C083126
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 3 DCA
Citation: 15 Cal.App.5th 1049
Opinion Date: 09/29/2017

Prosecutor's improper dismissal of a grand juror was grounds for dismissing an indictment because it substantially impaired the grand jury's independence and impartiality. The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office filed a complaint charging Williams and his codefendants with multiple robberies and other related offenses. During the grand jury proceedings, the prosecutor announced he was excusing one of the jurors from service due to an economic hardship. The proceedings continued with 18 jurors, who ultimately returned a 68-page indictment. Williams later moved to dismiss the indictment under Penal Code section 995, arguing that the prosecutor exceeded his authority by dismissing…

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Name: Steen v. Appellate Division, Superior Court (L.A.)
Case #: S174773
Court: CA Supreme Court
District CalSup
Citation: 59 Cal.4th 1045
Opinion Date: 08/11/2014

Court clerk may issue misdemeanor complaint for failure to appear where prosecutorial agency has implicitly given advance approval. The petitioner pled no contest to a misdemeanor of willfully violating her promise to appear charged in a complaint electronically generated by a court clerk. On appeal, she contended that the complaint was void because it was not issued by an executive branch officer with prosecutorial authority, in violation of the California Constitution's separation of powers clause. The California Supreme Court granted review to consider the validity of a misdemeanor complaint issued by a superior court clerk under the authority…

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Name: People v. Cruz
Case #: B226457
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 6
Citation: 197 Cal.App.4th 1306
Opinion Date: 08/02/2011

The trial court has the power to set terms of probation and it is a violation of the separation of powers clause of the Constitution for a Penal Code section 1210.12, subdivision (a) to provide that the probation department has the "sole discretion" to decide whether a probationer will be subject to GPS (global positioning system) monitoring. Cruz was placed on probation with conditions, inter alia, that he stay away from two businesses and that he not change residences or leave the county without the permission of his probation officer. The probation department required that he be fitted with GPS.…

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Name: In re Prather
Case #: S172903
Court: CA Supreme Court
District CalSup
Citation: 50 Cal.4th 238
Opinion Date: 07/29/2010

When a court directs the Parole Board to conduct a new parole-suitability hearing, the court should not improperly limit the type of evidence the board is statutorily obliged to consider. The Supreme Court granted review to settle a split among the appellate courts as to what action a reviewing court could order the Parole Board to take when it grants a new parole-suitability hearing. The court held is improper for the reviewing court to order the board to consider only a limited category of evidence in making its finding. Specifically, the reviewing court should not order the board…

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Name: People v. Thomas
Case #: S118052
Court: CA Supreme Court
District CalSup
Citation: 35 Cal.4th 635
Opinion Date: 04/18/2005

When a minor is charged with certain serious criminal offenses, the prosecutor can file the charges against the minor directly in the criminal division of the superior court (criminal court) and prosecute the minor as an adult. (See Welf. & Inst. Code, secs. 602, subd. (b), 707, subd. (d).) If the minor is convicted, the criminal court has discretion under section 1170.19, subd. (a)(4), to "order a juvenile disposition under the juvenile court law, in lieu of a sentence under [the Penal] code" [often referred to as "reverse remand"] -- but only if the prosecutor consents to that…

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Name: Moore v. Rowland
Case #: 03-15587
Court: US Court of Appeals
District 9 Cir
Citation: 367 Fed.3d 1199
Opinion Date: 05/19/2004

A state’s violation of its own separation-of-powers principles does not give rise to a federal due process violation. The defendant here argued that second degree murder in California is a judicial rather than statutory offense, and thus violates the separation of powers required by California’s state constitution. The Ninth Circuit refused to consider the alleged error, as it raised only a question of state law not amounting to a federal constitutional issue. The court further rejected the argument that retroactive application of a California Supreme Court decision deprived the defendant of due process, because the state court…

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