The Fourth District holds that arrest records cannot be sealed under Penal Code section 851.91 when the arrest led to a conviction in a separately filed case arising from the same underlying conduct.
Fourth District affirms that People failed to prove teenage accomplice guilty of murder under current law at section 1172.6 evidentiary hearing, but remands to redesignate his manslaughter conviction as attempted robbery rather than dismissing the case entirely.
Fourth District grants writ of mandate disqualifying a judge from presiding over a California Racial Justice Act hearing because her prior service as a homicide prosecutor in the same District Attorney’s Office whose charging practices are under review created an appearance of bias.
Fourth District affirms a trial court order authorizing electroconvulsive therapy for an incarcerated patient with treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorder, holding that ‘no less onerous alternatives’ under Penal Code section 2679(b) refers to medical alternatives, not surrogate-cons
Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that a Riverside County trial court abused its ‘residual’ discretion under Penal Code section 1001.36 by denying mental-health diversion without proper analysis of the statute’s eligibility and suitability criteria.
Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that a probate court’s grave-disability finding under the LPS Act does not establish that the person is incompetent to testify under Evidence Code section 701, which requires its own determination.
Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that Government Code section 27706(g) gives a public defender discretion to decline appointment to represent a habeas petitioner — including a Racial Justice Act claimant — without showing unavailability.