The Second Appellate District affirmed denial of pretrial mental health diversion under Penal Code § 1001.36, holding that the trial court had substantial evidence to find the statutory presumption rebutted where the defendant’s diagnosed depressive disorder — characterized by poor concentrati
The First District reversed a second-degree murder conviction because the trial court failed to clarify — when the jury asked mid-deliberation — that the rule ending self-defense once danger passes does not also eliminate the lesser defense of imperfect self-defense.
In an en banc opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed denial of habeas relief to an Arizona death-row prisoner, clarifying that merely including an underlying petition as an exhibit does not ‘fairly present’ a claim to a state supreme court, and that Martinez v. Ryan requires a showing of re
When a SWAT team uses gas, drones, and robots to flush a suspect from his apartment, the resulting arrest is treated as an in-home arrest — but California’s First District upheld the conviction anyway because the underlying warrant affidavit, even with false statements excised, still establish
A trial court may deny mental health diversion under Penal Code section 1001.36 when a defendant proposes returning to the same treatment program that previously failed to address his needs — even if the court frames its analysis in terms of treatment adequacy rather than the statutory suitability f
In the first California published decision on investigative genetic genealogy, the Fourth District held that a rapist has no reasonable expectation of privacy in semen left at a crime scene — and that law enforcement’s use of that DNA for genealogical database searches to identify him did not
Applying the California Supreme Court’s recent People v. Mitchell decision, the Second District held that Senate Bill 567’s restrictions on imposing upper-term sentences apply retroactively to defendants resentenced after probation revocation — even defendants who absconded for years and
A Three Strikes prisoner who successfully petitioned under Proposition 47 to redesignate a grand theft conviction as a misdemeanor is entitled to a full resentencing on all counts — but must still satisfy Proposition 36’s public safety standard before the court can reduce his indeterminate Thr
The Ninth Circuit granted Chanh Huy Luong’s petition for review and remanded to the BIA, holding that equitable tolling diligence must be measured from when the petitioner actually faced imminent removal risk — not from a 1992 removal order that was unenforceable for decades — and that the BIA
The Ninth Circuit denies qualified immunity to two former SFPD inspectors accused of fabricating evidence that led to Joaquin Ciria’s 32-year wrongful imprisonment, holding that the right not to be charged based on deliberately fabricated evidence was clearly established by 1990.