Statistical Evidence

Name: People v. Jimenez
Case #: H049356
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 6 DCA
Opinion Date: 10/06/2026

The Court of Appeal holds that appellant failed to make a prima facie showing under the RJA that the prosecution more frequently sought special-circumstance murder convictions against people who share appellant’s race or ethnicity than against members of another group “who have engaged in similar conduct and are similarly situated.” (PC 745.) The Court concludes appellant’s statistical report does not satisfy PC 745(a)(3)’s second criterion: it conflated the general population with the population that has engaged in similar conduct and is similarly situated and conflated the occurrences of a more serious charge with the frequency of that charging decision.

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Name: People v. Williams
Case #: E087071
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 2
Opinion Date: 09/17/2026

Defendant failed to meet his prima facie burden establishing "a substantial likelihood" that a violation of the RJA occurred (PC 745(c) & (h)(2)). Defendant presented evidence that (1) a juror stated during voir dire that he “grew up with racism”; (2) a prosecutor made public statements described as hateful toward African Americans; and (3) Black defendants in San Bernadino County received sentencing enhancements more frequently than White defendants. The Court found the juror’s testimony that he had overcome the racial bias demonstrated this was not evidence of bias toward defendant; the prosecutor had only appeared twice to continue the matter,…

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Name: Hernandez v. Superior Court
Case #: H052774
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 6 DCA
Opinion Date: 11/07/2025

Prima facie RJA violation (PC 745(h)(2)) established where defendant demonstrated “more than a mere possibility” RJA violation occurred. Latino defendant alleged officer: employed racial profiling during traffic stop and subsequent pat frisk, assumed defendant had criminal history based on race, directed racially stereotypical language toward defendant and bystanders, and used “Sureño whistle” while searching defendant. Defendant’s statistical evidence and expert declaration, combined with bodycam video, demonstrated facts which, if true, established a substantial likelihood that a RJA violation occurred.

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

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Name: People v. Superior Court (Lalo)
Case #: E085658
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 2
Opinion Date: 09/24/2025

The Court of Appeal issued a writ of mandate directing the trial court to vacate its order granting defendant’s motion for discovery under PC 745, the Racial Justice Act (RJA). The Court finds that defendant’s factual scenario that he was overcharged to pressure him before trial is unsupported. His assertion that he faced more severe charges than another defendant is not consistent with the information provided for that other case. Defendant’s statewide (rather than countywide) statistics fail to present a factual allegation of specific misconduct. Because defendant failed to demonstrate good cause, the trial court erred in granting discovery.

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Name: People v. Jimenez
Case #: H049356
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 6 DCA
Opinion Date: 07/03/2025

The Court of Appeal holds there was no error in denying defendant's RJA motion without prejudice. The motion requested dismissal of the felony-murder special circumstance (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)) on
grounds of its racially disparate application. "With utmost respect for the plausibility of his legal theory", the court found the report on which the claim relied to be "logically infirm" and found it omitted necessary and available information. For a statistics-based challenge, the court "would expect at least as a starting point a reasoned examination of (1) those defendants who were charged with murder in the relevant period and…

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Name: McDaniel v. Superior Court
Case #: A171858
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 1 DCA
Division: 3
Opinion Date: 05/19/2025

The Court of Appeal holds that a defendant may meet the threshold showing of good cause for discovery under the RJA with statistical evidence alone. The Court reasoned that, at the discovery phase, parties need only show plausibility based on specific facts, which can be done through case-specific facts, “statistical facts relevant to the charges and individuals involved,” or both.

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

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Name: Bonds v. Superior Court (2024) 99 Cal.App.5th 821
Case #: D082187
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 1
Opinion Date: 02/14/2024

When denying defendant’s motion for relief under the Racial Justice Act (RJA), the trial court erred by applying an incorrect legal standard that ignored that bias can be unconscious and implied as well as conscious and express. After a traffic stop, Bonds was charged with carrying a concealed firearm as a misdemeanor. He filed an RJA motion, arguing there are significant racial disparities in local policing, particularly with regard to the nature and frequency of traffic stops. At a hearing on the motion, Bonds offered the testimony of three expert witnesses and the police officer who stopped him. The officer…

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Name: Mosby v. Superior Court (2024) 99 Cal.App.5th 106
Case #: E080924
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 2
Opinion Date: 01/25/2024

To make a prima facie showing of discriminatory charging under the Racial Justice Act (RJA), the defendant must offer evidence that, if believed, would show both a racial disparity in charging in the county and that nonminority defendants who were similarly situated and engaged in similar conduct faced lower charges. Mosby was charged in Riverside County with capital murder. He filed motions under the RJA seeking to bar the prosecution from pursuing the death penalty based on racially discriminatory charging practices in the county. (Pen. Code, § 745(a)(3).)  The trial court ultimately rejected the RJA claim at the prima facie…

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