Filed 12/31/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA SMRITI NALWA, Plaintiff and Appellant, S195031 v. Ct.App. 6 H034535 CEDAR FAIR, L.P., Santa Clara County Defendant and Respondent. Super. Ct. No. CV089189 Plaintiff, who fractured her wrist on a bumper car ride at an amusement park, sued the park owner for negligence in not configuring or […]
Category: 2012
People v. Rodriguez
Filed 12/27/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S187680 v. Ct.App. 3 C060227 JOE RODRIGUEZ, JR., Yuba County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. CRF07288 We are again called upon to construe Penal Code section 186.22,1 the California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act (the STEP Act) (? 186.20 et […]
Ralphs Grocery v. UFCW Local 8
Filed 12/27/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA RALPHS GROCERY COMPANY, Plaintiff and Appellant, S185544 v. Ct.App. 3 C060413 UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS UNION LOCAL 8, Sacramento County Super. Ct. No. 34-2008- Defendant and Respondent. 00008682-CU-OR-GDS ____________________________________) A supermarket owner sought a court injunction to prevent a labor union from picketing on the privately […]
Estate of Giraldin
Filed 12/20/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA Estate of WILLIAM A. GIRALDIN, Deceased. ____________________________________) CHRISTINE GIRALDIN et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, S197694 v. Ct.App. 4/3 TIMOTHY GIRALDIN et al., G041811 Defendants and Appellants. Orange County Super. Ct. No. A240697 A revocable trust is a trust that the person who creates it, generally called the […]
People v. Watkins
Filed 12/17/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S026634 v. PAUL SODOA WATKINS, Los Angeles County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. KA005658 ____________________________________) In July 1990, defendant Paul Sodoa Watkins shot and killed Raymond Shield. A jury convicted defendant of the first degree murder of Shield (Pen. Code, ? […]
Jankey v. Song Koo Lee
Filed 12/17/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA LES JANKEY et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, S180890 v. Ct.App. 1/4 A123006 SONG KOO LEE etc., San Francisco City & County Super. Ct. No. CGC07-463040 Defendant and Respondent. Sued under state and federal law for disability access discrimination, defendant Song Koo Lee prevailed and sought attorney fees. […]
People v. Dungo
Filed 12/12/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S176886 v. Ct.App. 3 C055923 REYNALDO SANTOS DUNGO, San Joaquin County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. SF100023A ___________________________________ ) ORDER MODIFYING OPINION AND DENYING PETITION FOR REHEARING THE COURT: The opinion in this case, filed October 15, 2012, and appearing at […]
People v. Schmitz
Filed 12/3/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S186707 v. Ct.App. 4/3 G040641 DOUGLAS GEORGE SCHMITZ, Orange County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. 06HF2342 This case involves the constitutional limits of a vehicle search based on a passenger?s parole status. Here, an officer, aware that the front seat passenger […]
In re Richards
Filed 12/3/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA S189275 In re WILLIAM RICHARDS Ct.App. 4/2 E049135 on Habeas Corpus. San Bernardino County Super. Ct. No. SWHSS700444 At petitioner?s 1997 trial for the murder of his wife, the evidence against him was circumstantial. One of many pieces of evidence linking petitioner to the crime was a […]
People v. Homick
Filed 12/3/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S044592 v. STEVEN HOMICK, Los Angeles County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. A973541 ____________________________________) Defendant Steven Homick was convicted by a jury of one count of conspiracy to commit murder (Pen. Code, ?? 182, 187)1 and two counts of first degree […]
Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates, LLC v. City of Los Angeles
Filed 11/29/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA PACIFIC PALISADES BOWL MOBILE ESTATES, LLC, Plaintiff and Appellant, S187243 v. Ct.App. 2/4 B216515 CITY OF LOS ANGELES, Los Angeles County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. BS112956 We hold here that the requirements of the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Pub. Resources Code, ? 30000 et […]
Sargon v. Univ. Southern Cal.
Filed 11/26/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA SARGON ENTERPRISES, INC., Plaintiff and Appellant, S191550 v. Ct.App. 2/1 B202789, B205034 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA et al., Los Angeles County Defendants and Appellants. Super. Ct. No. BC209992 A small dental implant company that had net profits of $101,000 in 1998 has sued a university for breach […]
People v. Sanders
Filed 11/19/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S191341 v. Ct.App. 5 F059287 MAURICE D. SANDERS, Kern County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. BF126309A Here we are called upon to apply two related but distinct concepts: (1) the rule prohibiting multiple convictions based on greater and necessarily included offenses, […]
City of Alhambra v. County of L.A.
Filed 11/19/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA CITY OF ALHAMBRA et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, S185457 v. Ct. App. 2/3 B218347 COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES et al., Los Angeles County Defendants and Respondents. ) Super. Ct. No. BS116375 ____________________________________) By statute, counties are responsible for the administration of local property taxes by assessing and […]
People v. Wyatt
Filed 11/5/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S189786 v. Ct.App. 1/2 A114612 REGINALD WYATT, Alameda County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. C147107 While in defendant?s care, defendant?s young son died of shock and hemorrhage due to blunt force trauma. A jury convicted defendant of involuntary manslaughter (Pen. Code,1 […]
In re Reno
Filed 10/31/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA In re RENO S124660 on Habeas Corpus. ____________________________________) ORDER MODIFYING OPINION AND DENYING PETITION FOR REHEARING THE COURT: The opinion in this case, filed August 30, 2012, and appearing at 55 Cal.4th 428, is modified as follows: In footnote 23 on pages 478-480 of 55 Cal.4th, delete […]
In re Cabrera
Filed 10/29/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA In re ELVIN CABRERA, S197283 on Habeas Corpus. Ct.App. 5 F059511 Prison regulations promulgated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) set forth the procedures and substantive requirements for validating an inmate as a member or associate of a prison gang. Because gangs ?present a […]
People v. Mills
Filed 10/18/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S191934 v. Ct.App. 1/2 A125969 AHKIN RAMOND MILLS, Alameda County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. C154217 ?When a defendant pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, and also joins with it another plea or pleas, the defendant shall first be tried […]
People v. Lopez
Filed 10/15/12 (lead case; see companion cases, S176886 & S176213, also filed 10/15/12) IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S177046 v. Ct.App. 4/1 D052885 VIRGINIA HERNANDEZ LOPEZ, San Diego County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. SCE274145 ____________________________________) The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution grants a criminal defendant […]
People v. Dungo
Filed 10/15/12 (see lead case, S177046, and companion case, S176213, also filed 10/15/12) IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S176886 v. Ct.App. 3 C055923 REYNALDO SANTOS DUNGO, San Joaquin County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. SF100023A ____________________________________) The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution grants a criminal defendant […]
People v. Rutterschmidt
Filed 10/15/12 (see lead case, S177046, and companion case, S176886, also filed 10/15/12) IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S176213 v. Ct.App. 2/5 B209568 OLGA RUTTERSCHMIDT et al., Los Angeles County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. BA306576 ____________________________________) This is the third of three cases before us involving the […]
People v. Sauceda-Contreras
Filed 8/13/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S191747 v. Ct.App. 4/3 G041831 JOSE SAUCEDA-CONTRERAS, Orange County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. 07NF0170 Defendant Jose Sauceda-Contreras was arrested on suspicion of murdering his former girlfriend, Martha Mendoza, after he was found burning her body in a large metal trash […]
State of Cal. v. Continental Insurance
Filed 8/9/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, Plaintiff, Cross-Defendant and Appellant, S170560 v. CONTINENTAL INSURANCE Ct. App. 4/2 COMPANY et al., E041425 Riverside County Defendants, Cross- Complainants and Appellants; ) EMPLOYERS INSURANCE OF WAUSAU, Super. Ct. No. 239784 Defendant, Cross- Complainant and Respondent. ) ____________________________________) This case considers complex questions […]
People v. Valdez
Filed 8/9/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S062180 v. RICHARD VALDEZ, Los Angeles County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. BA108995 A jury convicted defendant Richard Valdez of five counts of first degree murder (Pen. Code, ?? 187, subd. (a), 189)1 and, as to each count, found true special […]
People v. Turnage
Filed 8/6/12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, S182598 v. Ct.App. 3 C059887 BARRY ALLEN TURNAGE, Yolo County Super. Ct. Defendant and Appellant. Nos. 06-5019, 04-1665 Defendant Barry Allen Turnage, an ex-felon on probation, planted an object near a government building that resembled a bomb (but lacked explosive content), and […]