PC 1203.2(b) and Revocation for Lifetime Parolees

When a district attorney files a parole revocation request as a result of a parolee’s criminal conduct, the judge must request and then consider the parole agency’s written report before sentencing the parolee. In the following summary, a judge in Sonoma County ruled before receiving or even ordering such a parole agency report, let alone before reviewing it, and the First Appellate District ruled this was error. To read more about this case, please click on the following link – https://www.greghillassociates.com/pc-1203-2-b-and-revocation-for-lifetime-parolees.html

SB 1437: Eliminating Natural and Probable Consequences

At the prima facie stage of an SB 1437 hearing (Penal Code § 1172.6), a judge may not engage in fact finding and if the judge does, the findings cannot be at a beyond a reasonable doubt level anyways. In the following the case, the Fourth Appellate District found that the trial court did this, which we think may be very common and we are glad the Fourth Appellate District made this ruling to help raise awareness of this serious problem. To read a summary of a recent published opinion exposing this mistake, please click on the following link – https://www.greghillassociates.com/sb-1437-eliminating-natural-and-probable-consequences.html

Brady Violation Must Cause Prejudice for Habeas Grant

A petition for a writ of habeas corpus, based on a Brady claim, based on suppression of evidence that violated defendant’s due process rights, must establish that the prosecution’s failure to disclose evidence had a prejudicial effect on defendant. In other words, a failure to disclose or produce evidence must have a material, unduly prejudicial effect on the outcome of the trial to be a meritorious Brady claim in the habeas context. To read a case summary where this was exemplified, please click on the following link – https://www.greghillassociates.com/brady-violation-must-cause-prejudice-for-habeas-grant.html

How to Measure the Two-Year Involuntary Commitment

While a Penal Code § 1368 incompetency commitment is limited to two years, calculating the two years when an individual is restored to competency, only to be again found incompetent can be complicated. Does one end the credit for time in custody when a certificate of competency is issued by the DSH or when the judge signs the order? After all, the person is not released for DSH until the order is signed. To find out answers, please click on the following case summary – https://www.greghillassociates.com/how-to-measure-the-two-year-involuntary-commitment.html

CDCR Recommends Resentencing, SB1393, Long Beach

In resentencing a person under Senate Bill 1393 (to strike a five-year sentence enhancement for a prior serious felony conviction), the judge should consider more than just the facts of the case the original sentencing judge had to consider. The resentencing judge should take into account the inmate’s post-conviction conduct record in prison and any proof of educational and self-help courses completed. For more information about SB 1393 resentencing, please click on the following link – https://www.greghillassociates.com/cdcr-recommends-resentencing-sb1393-long-beach.html

In Self Defense Claim, Is Gang Evidence Admissible?

Yes is the answer to the question posed in the title to this blog post. A self-defense and heat of passion jury instruction may be given in the context for the jury to consider if defendant’s gang membership allowed defendant to regard self-defense as necessary. We think this is a terrible instruction, particularly since membership in a criminal street gang, a crime in and of itself, should not give a defendant the right to claim self defense or a heat of passion murder and that a jury will recognize this irony and, consequently, never apply it. To read a summary of a gang shooting where this was an issue, please click on the following link – https://www.greghillassociates.com/in-self-defense-claim-is-gang-evidence-admissible.html

Discretionary Order to Register as a Sex Offender

A judge may exercise his or her discretion to order that a person register as a sex offender under Penal Code § 290 as long as the judge states on the record “(1) whether the offense was committed as a result of sexual compulsion or for purposes of sexual gratification and state the reasons for these findings; and (2) the reasons for requiring lifetime registration as a sex offender.” To read a summary of a case with facts that a judge found suitable for exercising such discretion for ordering such a requirement, please click on the following link – https://www.greghillassociates.com/discretionary-order-to-register-as-a-sex-offender.html

Felony Theft, Is Kelley Blue Book Value Admissible?

The Kelley Blue Book is often cited as the authoritative source for car valuations. In a recent Fourth Appellate District Court case, a detective cited to the Kelley Blue Book for the value of a car in an attempted grand theft auto case. The judge allowed such testimony after the prosecution satisfied the five-part Franzen test for application of Evidence Code § 1340 to permit admission of such testimony. To read more about the Evidence Code § 1340 exception to the hearsay rue and this recent opinion, please click on the following summary – https://www.greghillassociates.com/felony-theft-is-kelley-blue-book-value-admissible.html

Does Penal Code § 3051 Violate Equal Protection?

No is the answer to the question posed in the title to this blog entry. There is no equal protection violation by permitting a youth offender parole hearing to those under 18 who commit crimes resulting in a life without the possibility of parole sentence and denying such a parole hearing to those who commit the same type of crime at ages 18 to 25 with the same sentence. To read more about this issue, please click on the following link – https://www.greghillassociates.com/does-penal-code-3051-violate-equal-protection.html

Is a Plea Agreement Enforceable that Waives Appeal?

Yes is the answer to the question posed in the title to this blog post, particularly in U.S. District Court when defendant agrees to a 20-year sentence when facing more than 70 years in prison and the sentencing judge sentences him to just 14 years. In the following Ninth Circuit opinion, we summarize the ruling involving an attempt to void a sentence after a later ruling rendered a part of defendant’s sentence illegal. To read the summary, please click on the following summary – https://www.greghillassociates.com/is-a-plea-agreement-enforceable-that-waives-appeal.html