Criminal Appeal

Cal. Supremes Review Grant (last week): People v. Crandell, S134883. (H027641). Question presented (according to the docket):

Does the imposition of a restitution fine under Penal Code section 1202.4, subdivision (b), violate a defendant's plea agreement if the fine was not an express term of the agreement?

Opinion Below.

Justice Mihara dissented:

I dissent for the same reasons I dissented in People v. Knox (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 1453. (Knox at pp. 1463-1465, Mihara, J., dissenting.) I also note that the advisements in this case were not accurate. The court told defendant at the time of the plea that the “amount” of the restitution fund fine “will depend on your ability to pay the fine.” However, when defendant’s trial counsel objected to the $2600 restitution fund fine recommended by the probation department, the court acknowledged that it was setting the fine by multiplying the number of counts by the number of years and by $200 since “[t]hey take it out of their prison wages.” It hardly seems accurate to assure a defendant that the fine will be based on his ability to pay and then to instead set it based on the number of years he will spend in prison on the assumption that his prison wages during his 13-year prison term will be adequate to pay the fine.

Gov's Legal Affairs Sec'y (Former Cheif Deputy AG) Peter Siggins possible replacement for Justice Kay. (Recorder article - subscription required.) Info on Siggins here.

Justice Kay: retiring effective tomorrow.

Plain English  Instrutions. The Cal. Judicial Council announced on Friday the adoption of the new plain English jury instructions.  The fate of CALJIC appears sealed. According to  a committee report to the Judicial Council, it will no longer be updated

Status of CALJIC

For criminal cases, the Judicial Council currently recommends use of California Jury Instructions, Criminal (CALJIC), pursuant to rule 229(a) and section 5 of the Standards of Judicial Administration. CALJIC was produced and revised by judges of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.

The AOC has established a transition arrangement with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County whereby the court will stop maintaining CALJIC when the Judicial Council approves its criminal instructions. The publisher of the CALJIC volumes, Thomson/West, may continue publishing CALJIC.

Cal. Death Moratorium? California Assembly members Paul Koretz and Sally Lieber are sponsoring AB 1121 which would create a moratorium on executions in California until the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice reveals its findings on wrongful convictions and other problems in California's criminal justice system.

Ardaiz Headed to Ninth? A colleague referred me to this tidbit. According to the Captain's Quarters, Presiding Justice James Ardaiz of California's Fifth Appellate District is "under serious consideration" for an appointment to the Ninth Circuit.

The Ninth Circuit has 28 seats, 4 of which are currently vacant. In addition to the 24 active judges, the court has 23 senior judges. So there isn't necessarily a crisis. There is only one nomination pending: William G. Myers, III.