Statutory Construction

Name: People v. Lashon (2023) 95 Cal.App.5th 136
Case #: A163074
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 1 DCA
Division: 3
Opinion Date: 09/01/2023
  • Categories: Appeals, Direct Appeal, Legislation, Racial Justice Act (RJA), Statutory Construction

A defendant cannot raise a claim under the Racial Justice Act (RJA) for the first time on appeal (but see Editor's Note on pending legislation). Lashon was conviction of second degree and first degree murder, with true findings of multiple…

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Name: People v. Gaines (2023) 93 Cal.App.5th 91 (and People v. Ross)
Case #: F083168, F083228
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 5 DCA
Opinion Date: 06/15/2023
Subsequent History: Ordered published 7/5/2023
  • Categories: Accomplices, Crimes, Evidence, Insufficiency/Sufficiency of, Legislation, Statutory Construction

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…

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Name: People v. Coulthard (2023) 90 Cal.App.5th 743
Case #: H049755
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 6 DCA
Opinion Date: 03/30/2023
Subsequent History: Ordered published 04/19/2023
  • Categories: Areas Constitutional Law, Confront/Cross-exam, Crimes, Due Process, Elements of Crimes, Ex Post Facto, Legislation, Present a Defense, Statutory Construction, Supremacy Clause

To convict defendant of child abduction, the prosecution was not required to prove that the foreign court order or child custody order used to prove defendant’s guilt had previously been registered in California. Defendant’s daughter, M.C., lived with her mother…

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Name: People v. Middleton (2023) 91 Cal.App.5th 749
Case #: B312583
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 7
Opinion Date: 05/18/2023
  • Categories: Attempts, Crimes, Elements of Crimes, Legislation, Mens Rea, Statutory Construction

A defendant violates Penal Code section 236.1(c) when the defendant attempts, but fails, to traffic an actual minor, even if the defendant lacks specific intent regarding the victim’s age, and mistake of fact as to age is not a defense.…

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Name: People v. Tice (2023) 89 Cal.App.5th 246
Case #: E077504
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 2
Opinion Date: 03/14/2023
  • Categories: Crimes, Elements of Crimes, Legislation, Statutory Construction

A person employed by the county to work within a county jail is an “employee of the local detention facility” within the meaning of the gassing statute (Pen. Code, § 243.9(a)). Defendant was convicted of multiple counts based on incidents…

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Name: People v. Morgan
Case #: D080016
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 1
Opinion Date: 01/20/2023
  • Categories: Crimes, Enhancements, Legislation, Sentencing, Statutory Construction, Vehicle Code Violations

Trial court erred in concluding defendant’s driving under the influence (DUI) charges could be elevated to felonies where defendant had not suffered a qualifying sentence-enhancing prior conviction listed in Vehicle Code section 23550.5, subdivision (b). Under Vehicle Code section 23550.5,…

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Name: Mendoza v. Superior Court (2023) 91 Cal.App.5th 42
Case #: F084354
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 5 DCA
Opinion Date: 05/03/2023
  • Categories: AB 333 (Gangs), Gang Enhancement, Legislation, Preliminary Hearings, Procedural Requirements, Retroactivity/Abatement, Statutory Construction

Assembly Bill No. 333’s changes to the elements of gang-related charges apply retroactively to preliminary hearing proceedings. Mendoza sought a writ of mandamus after the superior court denied his Penal Code section 995 motion to dismiss a charge for active…

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Name: Smith v. LoanMe
Case #: S260391
Court: CA Supreme Court
District CalSup
Opinion Date: 04/01/2021
  • Categories: Crimes, Elements of Crimes, Legislation, Statutory Construction

Opinion By: Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye (unanimous decision) Penal Code section 632.7 prohibits parties as well as nonparties from intentionally recording a communication transmitted between a cellular or cordless phone and another device without the consent of all parties to the…

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Name: People v. Maya
Case #: S255371
Court: CA Supreme Court
District CalSup
Opinion Date: 04/09/2020
  • Categories: Dismissal (§ 1203.4a), Legislation, Sentencing, Statutory Construction

Opinion By: Justice Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye (unanimous decision) A person may live "an honest and upright life" for purposes of Penal Code section 1203.4a, subdivision (a) (expungement of a misdemeanor conviction) even if that person has been in custody since…

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Name: People v. Aguilar
Case #: B291637
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 8
Opinion Date: 11/07/2019
  • Categories: Evidence, General Principles, Insufficiency/Sufficiency of, Jury Instructions, Legislation, Statutory Construction

Force used in sexual penetration includes circumstances where the victim struggles to push aggressor away. Aguilar lived with his mother, his mother's boyfriend, and his mother's boyfriend's minor daughter A.R. When A.R. was about 13 years old, Aguilar touched her…

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