California Case Commentaries

The People v. Diaz: New Precedent on Cautionary Instructions for Criminal Threats

Date: Apr 7, 2015

The People v. Diaz: New Precedent on Cautionary Instructions for Criminal Threats Introduction In The People v. Diaz (345 P.3d 62, 2015), the Supreme Court of California addressed a pivotal issue...

Defendants' Right to Appeal Denial of Compassionate Release: People v. Loper

Date: Mar 6, 2015

Defendants' Right to Appeal Denial of Compassionate Release: People v. Loper Introduction Case: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. James Alden LOPER, Defendant and Appellant. Court: Supreme...

Extending Carjacking to Residential Settings in Felony Murder: Commentary on People v. Johnson

Date: Feb 27, 2015

Extending Carjacking to Residential Settings in Felony Murder: Commentary on People v. Johnson Introduction In the landmark case of The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Jerrold Elwin JOHNSON,...

Affirmation of First Degree Murder and Carjacking in *People v. Johnson*

Date: Feb 27, 2015

Affirmation of First Degree Murder and Carjacking in People v. Johnson Introduction In the landmark case People v. Jerrold Elwin Johnson (343 P.3d 808), the Supreme Court of California addressed a...

Great Bodily Injury Enhancements Prohibited in Manslaughter Convictions: Analysis of People v. Cook

Date: Feb 6, 2015

Great Bodily Injury Enhancements Prohibited in Manslaughter Convictions: Analysis of People v. Cook Introduction People v. Victoria Samantha Cook (60 Cal.4th 922, 2015) is a landmark decision by the...

Overruling PEOPLE v. HOFSHEIER: California Supreme Court's New Precedent on Mandatory Sex Offender Registration

Date: Jan 30, 2015

Overruling PEOPLE v. HOFSHEIER: California Supreme Court's New Precedent on Mandatory Sex Offender Registration Introduction The landmark case, James Richard Johnson v. Department of Justice,...

California Supreme Court Validates Mandatory Registration for Nonforcible Oral Copulation with Minors, Overruling Hofsheier

Date: Jan 30, 2015

California Supreme Court Validates Mandatory Registration for Nonforcible Oral Copulation with Minors, Overruling Hofsheier Introduction In the landmark case of James Richard Johnson v. Department of...

Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards Involving CFRA Rights and Employer Policies

Date: Jan 30, 2015

Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards Involving CFRA Rights and Employer Policies Introduction The case of Avery Richey v. AutoNation, Inc., et al. (60 Cal.4th 909) presented before the Supreme Court...

Forfeiture of Appellate Challenges to Probation-Related Fees under Penal Code §1203.1b

Date: Jan 13, 2015

Forfeiture of Appellate Challenges to Probation-Related Fees under Penal Code §1203.1b Introduction People v. Trujillo (2015) 340 P.3d 371 is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of California...

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...