OPINION KENNARD, J. — Many criminal matters are resolved not by trial but by plea agreements between the prosecution and the defendant. Typically, a plea agreement allows the defendant to plead guilty to one or more charges in exchange for dismissal of one or more other charges. Implicit in the plea agreement, which is in the nature of a contract, is the understanding that the trial court cannot use the facts of a dismissed charge to impose "adverse sentencing consequences" unless the...
OPINION BAXTER, J. Defendants Albert Andrew Albillar, Alex Albillar, and John Madrigal stand convicted by a jury of forcible rape while acting in concert (Pen. Code, 261, subd. (a)(2), 264.1), forcible sexual penetration while acting in concert ( id., 289, subd. (a)(1), 264.1), and active participation in a criminal street gang ( id., 186.22, subd. (a)). The jury further found that the sex offenses were committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a...
OPINION CORRIGAN, J. — Demetrius Charles Howard was convicted of first degree murder and attempted second degree robbery. 1 The jury found as a special circumstance that the murder was committed while defendant was engaged in the attempted robbery. 2 It returned a verdict of death. We affirm the judgment. I. FACTS The facts are summarized here for background purposes. Further factual and procedural details are provided in the discussion of defendant's claims on appeal. A. Guilt Phase...
OPINION MORENO, J. — The question posed by these consolidated cases is whether a trial court's order compelling compliance with a legislative subpoena (Gov. Code, 37104 et seq.) is appealable. We conclude that it is. Accordingly, we reverse the orders dismissing these appeals and remand the cases to the Court of Appeal for further proceedings. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Government Code section 37104 gives cities the power to issue legislative subpoenas. 1 In 2009, the City of Dana...
OPINION MORENO, J. — When an employee is terminated or resigns from his or her employment, final wages are generally due and payable immediately. (Lab. Code, 201, 202.) 1 Section 203 provides that, if an employer willfully fails to timely pay final wages, "the wages of the employee shall continue as a penalty from the due date thereof at the same rate until paid or until an action therefor is commenced; but the wages shall not continue for more than 30 days." ( 203, subd. (a),...
OPINION CHIN, J. — This court has defined the term "suit" in a comprehensive general liability (CGL) insurance policy as "a court proceeding initiated by the filing of a complaint." ( Foster-Gardner, Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. (1998) 18 Cal.4th 857 , 887 [ 77 Cal.Rptr.2d 107 , 959 P.2d 265 ] ( Foster-Gardner ).) Foster-Gardner declined to include an environmental agency's pollution remediation order in that definition, and so we found the insured business was not entitled to...
OPINION CHIN, J. — This case involves a controversial subject: persons unlawfully present in this country. The California Legislature has provided that unlawful aliens are exempt from paying nonresident tuition at California state colleges and universities under certain circumstances. (Ed. Code, 68130.5 (section 68130.5).) Congress has prohibited the states from making unlawful aliens eligible for postsecondary education benefits under certain circumstances. (8 U.S.C. 1623 (section...
OPINION MORENO, J. — On September 4, 1998, a jury convicted Timothy Russell of the murders of Riverside County Sheriff's Deputies Michael Haugen and James Lehmann (Pen. Code, 1 187). The jury found true a sentencing enhancement allegation that defendant had used a rifle during the commission of the murders ( 12022.5, subd. (a), 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)); and found true a special circumstance allegation that defendant had intentionally killed Deputies Haugen and Lehmann during the...
OPINION MORENO, J. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5, a litigant who acts as a private attorney general and is a successful party in the litigation may under certain circumstances recover attorney fees from the opposing parties. One of the requirements that courts are directed to consider when determining eligibility for attorney fees is "the necessity and financial burden of private enforcement." As explained below, courts have long construed this language to mean, among other...
OPINION GEORGE, C. J. — In this case, as in People v. Engram (2010) 50 Cal.4th 1131 ( Engram ), the trial court concluded that on the last day established by Penal Code section 1382 for bringing this Riverside County criminal proceeding to trial, there were no courtrooms or judges available to try the case. Defendant objected to any further continuance and, at his request, the court scheduled a hearing for the following day on his motion to dismiss the action. At the conclusion of that...
OPINION GEORGE, C. J. — On December 1, 2008—faced with (1) a large current state budget deficit that was projected to grow to more than $40 billion by the end of the 2009-2010 fiscal year, and (2) the very serious prospect that by as early as February 2009 the state would run out of cash to pay its ordinary expenses—the Governor of California declared a fiscal emergency, called the Legislature into special session, and submitted to the Legislature a comprehensive plan to address the...
OPINION GEORGE, C. J. — We granted review in this original writ proceeding to address the propriety of the Governor's use of the so-called "line-item veto" under the asserted authority of article IV, section 10, subdivision (e) of the California Constitution, to further reduce funding that already had been reduced by the Legislature in its midyear adjustments to the Budget Act of 2009. The Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Two, denied the requested writ of mandate and...
