Ethics/Professional Responsibility,
Criminal
Jan. 14, 2022
Public defender says DAs’ fentanyl murder warnings are illegal
The warnings are used to prove implied malice in a subsequent murder charge and are similar to a “Watson” advisory for convicted drunken drivers.
The Orange County public defender says District Attorney Todd Spitzer cannot legally have prosecutors read to convicted drug offenders a warning that they could be charged with murder if they sell fentanyl to someone who dies from an overdose.
Prosecutors in Sacramento, Napa, Yolo, San Diego, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, El Dorado and Riverside counties also issue the fentanyl murder warnings to drug crime convicts.
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