Category: Uncategorized

People v. Arredondo, California Supreme Court, December 16, 2019 Summary: An adult witness began crying on the stand, so the court positioned a computer monitor between her and the defendant.  This violated the defendant’s Confrontation rights.  The court explained, “To find that an accommodation was constitutionally permissible merely because F.R. — a young adult —…

People v. Rubio, California Court of Appeal, December 16, 2019 Summary: Officers responded to a “shots fired” call in a high crime neighborhood.  Defendant exited a garage and confronted police, “yelling for them to shoot him.”  Officers broke into the garage, found contraband, and later returned with a search warrant.  The initial entry violated the…

People v. Fish, California Court of Appeal, November 27, 2019 Summary: Defendant was involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident.  “Based on [Defendant’s] statements to law enforcement officers after the collision that he was under the care of a psychotherapist who had prescribed him certain antidepressant and antipsychotic medications, the prosecution subpoenaed the psychotherapist’s (and his…

People v. Johnson, California Supreme Court, November 25, 2019 Summary: In this capital case, the Supreme Court found several errors, but affirmed death. The court explained that evidence of lack of remorse is generally inadmissible – “A lack of remorse is not enumerated as an aggravating factor under section 190.3. A prosecutor, therefore, should not…

People v. Lopez, California Supreme Court, November 25, 2019 Summary: “Acting on an anonymous tip about a motorist’s erratic driving, a police officer approached defendant Maria Elena Lopez after she parked and exited her car. When the officer asked if she had a driver’s license, she said she did not. Police then detained her for…

By Victor VeVea (c)2019 Prosecution Discovery Obligation The prosecution’s discovery obligation is codified in Penal Code §1054.1: The prosecuting attorney shall disclose to the defendant or his or her attorney all of the following materials and information, if it is in the possession of the prosecuting attorney or if the prosecuting attorney knows it to…

People v. Coneal, California Court of Appeal, November 6, 2019 Summary: Defendant was charged with a gang-related murder,  The Prosecution showed the jury multiple rap videos from different artists that had been downloaded from YouTube, some of which depicted Defendant.  A gang expert explained and interpreted the videos and the lyrics.  The court found admission of…

In Re: Jeremiah S., California Court of Appeal, October 18, 2019 Summary: The victim of a purse snatching reported that her purse and phone had been taken by two Black males.  A ping of the phone traced it to the area where Defendant was found.  Officers conducted a patdown search and located the phone.  Defendant argued…

Criminal Justice Webpages by Victor VeVea (c)2018 Some counties have judicial records online and available to the public. These official government web pages, which I’ll collectively call Criminal Justice Webpages (CJW), generally come in two categories: Superior Court webpages and Sheriff’s Department webpages. The Kern CJW’s are some of the best in the state. Kern…

By Victor VeVea Tradition Kern County differs from most (perhaps all) other counties by setting a specific date that motions must be heard for each felony case in Bakersfield. The outlying courts don’t appear to set a motions date, but rather have certain days of the week that are available for hearing motions. The motions…