The California Supreme Court holds that assault is not a lesser included offense of resisting an officer by force or violence under Penal Code section 69, because resistance does not require the present ability to inflict harm.
Fifth District holds (on transfer from the California Supreme Court) that trial courts may impose upper-term sentences based on California Rules of Court rule 4.421(b) factors derived from prior convictions, but vacates the prior-strike finding under People v. Fletcher.
Case Jason Robert Pederson a/k/a Katheryn Pederson v. State of North Dakota Court Supreme Court of North Dakota Judge Crothers
Fourth District reverses a five-year DVRO for the second time, holding the trial court again denied the incarcerated respondent meaningful access to the courts by issuing the order without addressing his request to appear telephonically.
Fourth District affirms a juvenile court’s joint-and-several restitution order, holding the January 2025 amendment to Welfare and Institutions Code section 730.6 — which replaced joint-and-several liability with several liability based on percentage of fault — does not apply retroactively to a
Second District grants writ of mandate, holding that an indigent petitioner under California’s Racial Justice Act must show only a ‘plausible allegation’ of a violation to obtain counsel — not a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief — and may amend his petition to meet that
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 affirms a felony arson conviction but reverses the state-of-emergency sentencing enhancement, holding the 2015 tree-mortality emergency proclamation did not extend statewide and the prosecution failed to prove the fire was in a designated hazard zone.
First District reverses an attempted-lewd-act conviction, holding the trial court violated Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7(d)(1) by failing to explain its reasons for overruling defense counsel’s objection to the prosecutor’s peremptory strike of a prospective juror.
Fourth District affirms a Gun Violence Restraining Order against a father whose adult son with a documented mental-health history threatened a mass shooting at a local high school, holding the order survives Second Amendment, vagueness, and overbreadth challenges.
First District affirms a probation condition allowing warrantless electronics searches as imposed on a defendant who used VOIP and text-message accounts to coordinate the sale of 1,000 fentanyl pills.
Second District affirms denial of section 1172.6 resentencing relief for a defendant convicted of four counts of first-degree murder, holding she remained guilty under current law as a direct aider and abettor with intent to kill — a theory that survived Senate Bill 1437.
Fourth District reverses a second-degree-murder conviction, holding that statements obtained from a defendant during an undercover Perkins operation were inadmissible under Miranda because the suspect had invoked his right to counsel and a known law-enforcement officer continued to ‘stimulate&
First District holds that brandishing an imitation firearm under Penal Code section 417.4 is not among the offenses that trigger the juvenile-firearm ban under Penal Code section 29820, and vacates that probation condition.
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 affirms convictions but remands for resentencing in a vehicle-theft case, holding the prosecutor’s and defense counsel’s use of a ‘dog drinking a slushy’ analogy to explain circumstantial evidence did not violate the Racial Justice Act.
Second District reverses convictions of former UCLA gynecologic oncologist James Heaps, holding the trial court’s ex parte communications with the jury through a judicial assistant — without notifying counsel — deprived defendant of counsel at a critical stage and the prosecution failed to pro
The California Supreme Court holds that a small amount of loose marijuana scattered on a car floor is not an open container under state law and does not give police probable cause to search the vehicle.
Fifth District holds that grand jury transcripts and police reports are not within section 1172.6(d)(3)’s hearsay exception and were inadmissible at the petitioner’s section 1172.6 evidentiary hearing, vacating the denial and remanding for a new hearing.
Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that an Orange County trial court applied the wrong legal standard and relied on findings unsupported by substantial evidence when denying mental-health pretrial diversion to a defendant diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Second District affirms a 25-years-to-life sentence after a section 1172.75 resentencing, holding that Senate Bill 81’s amendments to Penal Code section 1385(c) do not apply to dismissal of prior strike convictions under the Three Strikes Law.
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.
After IFP screening of an amended complaint by a state prisoner experiencing a mental-health crisis, the court allowed his Eighth Amendment excessive-force claim to proceed against two correctional officers who allegedly held him against a hot metal plate causing severe burns, but dismissed his deli