Secondary practice area
Fourth District affirms forcible rape and related convictions but holds that stayed sentences based on unused One Strike circumstances and the Habitual Sexual Offender law are unauthorized when the defendant is already sentenced under the One Strike law and Three Strikes law for the same offense.
Second District holds that a jury’s not-true findings on personal firearm use and a robbery special circumstance do not collaterally estop a resentencing court from finding the defendant was the actual killer in a Penal Code section 1172.6 hearing, applying People v. Santamaria and joining People v. Hart.
The California Supreme Court reverses Omar Deen’s capital conviction and death sentence because the trial court failed to adequately examine whether a juror who had a personal connection to the murdered police chief harbored actual bias.
Second District grants habeas petition vacating murder conviction where prosecutor failed to correct false eyewitness testimony about prior police identifications and defense counsel failed to impeach with the witnesses’ actual statements, applying the Supreme Court’s recent Glossip v. Oklahoma decision.
First District holds that the term ‘receives’ in Penal Code section 32310(a) requires more than mere possession of a large-capacity magazine, and reverses a felony conviction supported only by evidence that the defendant possessed the magazine in his car.
First District holds, with one justice dissenting, that a defendant forfeited his Penal Code section 1170(b)(6) low term presumption claim by failing to raise it at sentencing despite submitting evidence of childhood trauma.
First District holds that a juvenile court may consider a victim impact statement at a six-month baseline review hearing if it limits its consideration to material relevant to the juvenile’s rehabilitation.
Sixth District holds that the probation department, not the trial court, decides eligibility for Penal Code section 1000.7’s young adult deferred entry of judgment pilot program and rejects separation of powers and abuse of discretion challenges to a denial based on out-of-county residence.
Fourth District grants Penal Code section 1473.7 relief where defense counsel failed to recognize and pursue an immigration-safe plea after Sessions v. Dimaya and United States v. Lynch opened the door to one.
Fourth District holds that Penal Code section 29820’s firearm prohibition for certain juvenile wards until age 30 is facially constitutional under both the Second Amendment Bruen framework and the Due Process Clause.