The Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, affirmed Jose Alejandro Hernandez’s first degree murder conviction, finding substantial evidence of planning, motive, and manner of killing supported the jury’s finding of premeditation and deliberation.
The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a July 28, 2025 restitution order after appointed counsel filed a Wende brief and the court’s independent review of the entire record found no arguable error.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment after independently reviewing the record and finding no arguable issues in Deshon Dubose’s appeal from the judgment imposing his previously suspended five-year sentence.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of Daniel Michael Pina’s murder-resentencing petition, holding that substantial evidence supported the finding that he personally stabbed Frank Ramirez with the specific intent to kill.
The Fifth District affirmed a 145-years-to-life sentence, holding that trial counsel’s failure to object to a midtrial amendment adding seven sex-offense counts did not constitute ineffective assistance because the charges were supported by preliminary-hearing evidence and did not prejudice th
The Third District affirmed an order striking Charles Dell Riel’s prior-prison-term enhancement but refusing to revisit his death sentence, following published decisions that treat habeas corpus as the exclusive procedure for that collateral attack.
The Fifth District granted leave to file a belated appeal on or before 60 days from the order and directed the superior court clerk by writ of mandate to treat a notice received by that deadline as timely and prepare the record.
The Court of Appeal affirmed DUI causing injury convictions, holding that circumstantial evidence—including the defendant’s ownership of the vehicle, his proximity to the scene, and a seatbelt abrasion on his left collarbone—was sufficient to prove he was the driver, and rejecting a challenge
The Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed James Jeffrey Hoff’s two-year prison sentence after independently reviewing the record and finding no reasonably arguable factual or legal issues in his appeal from probation revocation and sentencing.
The Court of Appeal held that a trial court may reimpose an upper term sentence at a Penal Code section 1172.75 resentencing without new jury findings on aggravating factors if the upper term was originally imposed, but remanded for resentencing on a firearm possession count because the trial court
The Fifth District affirmed the denial of Ricky Marsden Mitchell’s section 1172.6 petition, holding that overwhelming evidence supported both his intent to kill and his major participation with reckless indifference to human life.
A California appellate court affirmed the judgment of conviction and remanded solely to correct the sentencing minute order and abstract of judgment to reflect the waiver of fines and fees, including the $400 parole revocation fine.
The Court of Appeal vacated gang enhancement findings because the 2008 jury was not instructed on elements later added by AB 333, remanded for the trial court to assess harmlessness, and affirmed the remaining sentencing rulings.
The Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed Michael Daniel Salinas’s 32-month judgment after independent record review under People v. Wende found no reasonably arguable factual or legal issues, while the opinion prints the plea as guilty in its introduction and as no contest in its dated proc
The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Court of Appeal and held that section 417.3 requires objective fear only. The statutory words focus on the way the firearm is displayed and ask whether that conduct would cause a reasonable person apprehension or fear. They do not say that the identified vi
The Third District reversed the judgment for sentencing purposes and ordered a full resentencing. The upper term could not rest on aggravating findings that duplicated elements of the crimes or the firearm enhancement, and the relevant danger-to-society finding required a comparison showing that the
The Second District affirmed. A defendant is statutorily entitled to make a suppression motion at the preliminary hearing, and that motion is part of the hearing that section 859b requires to occur within its specified time. The prosecution could not preserve the complaint by separating the evidenti
The court affirmed. The jury was instructed that first degree murder required a deliberate decision to kill—careful weighing of considerations and a knowing choice—not a rash, impulsive decision made without careful thought. By returning that verdict, the jury necessarily rejected the state of mind
In an unpublished memorandum, the Ninth Circuit vacated a fentanyl distributor’s time-served sentence against a 63–78 month Guidelines range and remanded for resentencing, finding the deterrence and disparity analysis inadequate and the firearm-enhancement standard unclear.
In an unpublished memorandum, the Ninth Circuit affirmed Steven Dwayne Scott’s convictions and 324-month sentence for attempted enticement of a minor and possession of child pornography, finding the evidence sufficient, the challenged prior-acts evidence not an abuse of discretion, and the sen
The Court of Appeal modified a juvenile ward’s maximum confinement term from 28 years and eight months down to 22 years, while rejecting the argument that the robbery counts should have been merged with the carjackings under Penal Code section 654.
California’s Second District Court of Appeal, Division Six, affirmed Gene Matthews III’s commitment as an offender with a mental health disorder, holding that expert testimony and the surrounding record supplied substantial evidence of both the offense connection and future dangerousness.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order denying Terrence Dunson’s Penal Code section 1172.6 petition for resentencing as to the attempted murders of Tapia, Collier, and Tarry, finding substantial evidence supported the conclusion that Dunson directly aided and abetted those
The First Appellate District, Division Four, affirmed a juvenile court’s fourth six-month review order under Welfare and Institutions Code section 875, which reduced Steven T.’s baseline confinement term by three months, denied his request for unsupervised community outings, and authoriz