Prop. 57 Juvenile

Name: In re J.S.
Case #: B336233
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 6
Opinion Date: 09/18/2024

No abuse of discretion in transferring 20-year-old (16 and 17 at time of offenses) to adult court on murder, sexual assault and robbery charges occurring over two-year period (WIC 707(a)). Substantial evidence supported finding four of five WIC 707(a)(3) factors favored transfer, and court properly applied law in concluding minor could not be rehabilitated prior to juvenile jurisdiction terminating at age 25.

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

View Full Summary
Name: In re A.M.
Case #: B329999
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 6
Opinion Date: 05/31/2024

The Court of Appeal holds that when a minor was sentenced as an adult prior to the passage of Prop 57 and the sentence is later vacated on habeas corpus, the judgment becomes nonfinal and the defendant is entitled to retroactive application of ameliorative laws, including SB 1391 and AB 333. The minor’s case only becomes final when the criminal proceeding as a whole has ended and the courts can no longer provide a remedy on direct review. Where AB 333's amendments to PC 186.22's gang-murder special circumstance provisions apply retroactively, Chapman harmless error review is appropriate.

The full opinion is available on…

View Full Summary
Name: People v. Superior Court (O.G.)
Case #: S259011
Court: CA Supreme Court
District CalSup
Citation: 11 Cal.5th 82
Opinion Date: 02/25/2021

Opinion By: Justice Groban (unanimous decision)
Senate Bill No. 1391, which eliminated the ability to prosecute juveniles accused of committing crimes when they were 14 or 15 years old in adult criminal court (subject to a limited exception), is a valid amendment of Proposition 57. Days after the passage of SB 1391, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office filed a petition in juvenile court alleging that the minor O.G. committed two counts of murder and other offenses when he was 15 years old. They simultaneously filed a transfer motion to adult court. The juvenile court found SB 1391, which…

View Full Summary