| Case # | Name | Category | Court | Judge | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
C066994
|
People v. Crivello
Prosecution may not seek recommitment of defendant for mental treatment following court’s determination of reasonable doubt as to whether disorder was causative in crime. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Nov. 2, 2011 | |
|
A126064
|
People v. Robinson
Court errs in staying gang enhancement where imposition of sentencing enhancements is governed by more specific of two conflicting statutes on matter. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Nov. 2, 2011 | |
|
10-50192
|
U.S. v. Sanchez
Prosecutor’s statements urging jury against acquittal in case that rested on defendant’s credibility prejudices defendant's trial and warrants reversal of conviction. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Nov. 2, 2011 | |
|
10-1115
|
Cavazos v. Smith
Ninth Circuit errs in setting aside jury verdict due to insufficient evidence although evidence existed to find elements of crime beyond reasonable doubt. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Nov. 1, 2011 | |
|
S184212
|
People v. Vang
Expert testimony is proper when based on hypothetical questions rooted in facts shown by evidence of case. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Nov. 1, 2011 | |
|
09-50309
|
U.S. v. Caruto
Instruction to grand jury to ignore potential punishment in deciding whether to convict does not violate Fifth Amendment. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Nov. 1, 2011 | |
|
10-35574
|
Boyer v. Belleque
Sufficient evidence supports conviction for attempted aggravated murder where defendant knew he had AIDS, and sexually abused victims without wearing condom. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 31, 2011 | |
|
09-10330
|
U.S. v. Wilson
Government’s interest in seized property used to facilitate crime is eliminated following victim’s showing of interest in fraudulently obtained property. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 31, 2011 | |
|
10-10430
|
U.S. v. Newman
District court errs in declining to impose criminal forfeiture in amount that was indisputably traceable to defendant’s commission of bank robberies. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 31, 2011 | |
|
B228049
|
People v. Thomas
Defendant does not have expectation of privacy in saliva left on preliminary alcohol screening device and thus, subsequent DNA testing does not constitute search. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 31, 2011 | |
|
10-10550
|
U.S. v. Williams
Defendant is guilty of advertising distribution of child pornography, even if he did not personally produce images, because he knowingly distributed images. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 28, 2011 | |
|
09-55998
|
Schultz v. Tilton
Jury instruction does not violate due process clause where it stated that finding defendant committed prior sexual offenses by preponderance of evidence is insufficient to prove commission of crimes. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 28, 2011 | |
|
09-15330
|
Seeboth v. Mayberg
Appeal of habeas petition is moot where it did not challenge commitment as sexually violent predator for indeterminate term based on proceeding that was legitimate. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 28, 2011 | |
|
E052040
|
In re Douglas
Court errs in granting habeas petition that was filed more than decade after defendant had notice of legal basis for petition. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 28, 2011 | |
|
B227750
|
People v. Kingsberry
Court properly corrects sentencing error by increasing defendant’s term in prison from four years, which was unauthorized under sentencing triad, to six years. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 27, 2011 | |
|
B229615
|
People v. Davis
MDMA qualifies as ‘controlled substance’ because chemical name of substance contains ‘methamphetamine,’ which is defined as controlled substance. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 27, 2011 | |
|
D059013
|
People v. Santana
Jury instruction on attempted mayhem, which included 'gunshot wound' as example, improperly focuses on intent to injure, instead of nature of injury. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 27, 2011 | |
|
09-50235
|
U.S. v. Carona
Defendant who tried to persuade witness to provide false testimony commits witness tampering even if he did not want witness to withhold all testimony. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 26, 2011 | |
|
E048972
|
People v. Sanchez
Positioning of deputy near defendant during testimony is not inherently prejudicial where court has discretion to maintain such security measures. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 26, 2011 | |
|
10-30313
|
U.S. v. Reveles
Non-judicial punishment administered by Navy is not criminal in nature and thus, does not implicate Double Jeopardy Clause. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 25, 2011 | |
|
08-55165
|
Doe v. Busby
Equitable tolling is appropriate for prisoner’s habeas petition where prior counsel’s actions were severely egregious and prisoner used reasonable diligence in pursuing petition. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 25, 2011 | |
|
B231019
|
Robey v. Superior Court (People)
Officer electing to seize package with strong odor of marijuana, instead of conducting immediate search, must obtain warrant before opening it. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 25, 2011 | |
|
C066501
|
In re Lucero
California Supreme Court ruling, which held that shooting at occupied vehicle no longer provides predicate for application of felony-murder rule, applies retroactively. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 25, 2011 | |
|
10-50051
|
U.S. v. Rizk
Although prior settlement does not preclude criminal restitution order, court improperly awards mortgage fraud victims amount greater than their actual losses. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 20, 2011 | |
|
B229598
|
People v. Hoover
Court is not limited to one year in determining length of time within which defendant must make periodic payments of probation fees. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 20, 2011 | |
|
08-50063
|
U.S. v. Wilkes
Court may compel defense witness’s immunity absent prosecutorial misconduct where fact-finding process would be distorted through prosecution’s decisions. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 19, 2011 | |
|
B224163
|
People v. Miranda
Manner in which child victim testified regarding sexual molestation is sufficient evidence to show her lack of capacity to consent to sexual acts. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 18, 2011 | |
|
10-10517
|
U.S. v. Carper
Night-vision devices do not qualify as ‘non-fully automatic small arms’ for purposes of calculating sentence of defendant convicted of illegal exportation. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 16, 2011 | |
|
B230060
|
People v. Williams
Motion to withdraw plea is untimely where motion was filed after court sentenced defendant to prison, and suspended sentence pending completion of probation. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 16, 2011 | |
|
B224887
|
People v. Espiritu
Trial court errs in ordering further deliberations after jury returned ‘not true’ verdict regarding allegation court determined to be inconsistent with other jury findings. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
Oct. 16, 2011 |