California Case Commentaries

Appellate Forfeiture of Sentencing Fees: Insights from People v. Octa (60 Cal.4th 862)

Date: Jan 13, 2015

Appellate Forfeiture of Sentencing Fees: Insights from People v. Octa (60 Cal.4th 862) Introduction In People v. Octa (60 Cal.4th 862, 2015), the Supreme Court of California addressed a pivotal issue...

Reaffirming the Forfeiture Rule in Appeal Challenges to Probation-Related Fees Under Penal Code 1203.1b

Date: Jan 13, 2015

Reaffirming the Forfeiture Rule in Appeal Challenges to Probation-Related Fees Under Penal Code 1203.1b Introduction In the landmark case of The People v. Donna Marie Trujillo, the Supreme Court of...

Reevaluation of Juror Misconduct and Presumption of Prejudice: Insights from People v. Lavender

Date: Dec 9, 2014

Reevaluation of Juror Misconduct and Presumption of Prejudice: Insights from People v. Lavender Introduction People v. Lavender (60 Cal.4th 679), adjudicated by the Supreme Court of California on...

Misuse of Visual Aids in Prosecutorial Arguments: Centeno v. The People

Date: Dec 5, 2014

Misuse of Visual Aids in Prosecutorial Arguments: Centeno v. The People Introduction Centeno v. The People (60 Cal.4th 659, 2014) is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of California that...

Supreme Court of California Affirms Administrative Bodies' Authority in Pitchess Motions

Date: Dec 2, 2014

Supreme Court of California Affirms Administrative Bodies' Authority in Pitchess Motions Introduction In the case of Riverside County Sheriff's Department v. Jan Stiglitz et al., the Supreme Court of...

Affirmation of Aiding and Abetting Liability under Natural and Probable Consequence Doctrine in People v. Smith

Date: Nov 21, 2014

Affirmation of Aiding and Abetting Liability under Natural and Probable Consequence Doctrine in People v. Smith Introduction People v. Vince Bryan Smith (60 Cal.4th 603) is a landmark decision by the...

Appealability of Denial of Sentence Recall Under Section 1170.126: Teal v. Superior Court

Date: Nov 7, 2014

Appealability of Denial of Sentence Recall Under Section 1170.126: Teal v. Superior Court Introduction In Bennie Jay Teal v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (60 Cal.4th 595, 2014), the Supreme...

Affirmation of Prosecution's Conduct and Evidence Admissibility in Capital Murder Cases: People v. Marcus Dorwin Adams

Date: Oct 31, 2014

Affirmation of Prosecution's Conduct and Evidence Admissibility in Capital Murder Cases: People v. Marcus Dorwin Adams Introduction In the case of The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Marcus...

Standards for Recusal, Restraints, and Evidence Admissibility in Multi-Defendant Death Penalty Cases: The People v. Bryant et al. Decision

Date: Oct 2, 2014

Standards for Recusal, Restraints, and Evidence Admissibility in Multi-Defendant Death Penalty Cases: The People v. Bryant et al. Decision Introduction The case of The People, Plaintiff and...

Enhanced Standards for Attempted Criminal Threats: People v. Chandler

Date: Aug 29, 2014

Enhanced Standards for Attempted Criminal Threats: People v. Chandler Introduction People v. Ben Chandler, Jr. (60 Cal.4th 508, 2014-08-28) is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of California...

Franchisor Vicarious Liability Determined by Control Over Day-to-Day Operations

Date: Aug 29, 2014

Franchisor Vicarious Liability Determined by Control Over Day-to-Day Operations Introduction The landmark case of Taylor Patterson v. Domino's Pizza, LLC addressed a pivotal question in employment...

The PEOPLE v. Lucas: Setting New Precedents in Criminal Consolidation and Cross-Admissibility

Date: Aug 22, 2014

The PEOPLE v. Lucas: Setting New Precedents in Criminal Consolidation and Cross-Admissibility Introduction In The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. David Allen Lucas, Defendant and Appellant (60...

The People v. Merriman (2014): Affirmation of Death Sentence and Evidentiary Standards

Date: Aug 19, 2014

The People v. Merriman (2014): Affirmation of Death Sentence and Evidentiary Standards Introduction The People v. Justin James Merriman, 60 Cal.4th 1 (2014), is a seminal case from the Supreme Court...

Supreme Court Upholds SVP Commitment Standards and Addresses Prosecutorial Misconduct: Analysis of PEOPLE v. SHAZIER

Date: Aug 19, 2014

Supreme Court Upholds SVP Commitment Standards and Addresses Prosecutorial Misconduct: Analysis of PEOPLE v. SHAZIER Introduction In the landmark case of The People v. Dariel Shazier (60 Cal.4th...

Defining 'Willful, Deliberate, and Premeditated' in Sentencing: People v. Kel Commentary

Date: Aug 15, 2014

Defining 'Willful, Deliberate, and Premeditated' in Sentencing: People v. Kel Commentary Introduction People v. Kel, 59 Cal.4th 1113 (2014), is a significant decision by the Supreme Court of...

Affirmation of Change of Venue and Admissibility of Prior Sexual Conduct in Capital Cases: People v. McCurdy