Criminal Law – Page 2 – California Case Summaries

A published California decision holds that an off-duty deputy retained peace-officer authority, making a felony-murder defendant ineligible for section 1172.6 resentencing.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Castillo v. Bean — Post-conviction counsel error may excuse default of Nevada death-penalty claims

automatic / October 2, 2026

The Ninth Circuit revived two Nevada death-row habeas claims because initial post-conviction counsel's errors may excuse their procedural default.

1st District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Jordan v. Superior Court — No Full Evidentiary Hearing Required to Revoke Outpatient Competency Treatment

automatic / October 1, 2026

The First District Court of Appeal holds that due process does not require a full evidentiary hearing before a court revokes a mentally incompetent defendant's outpatient competency-restoration status under Penal Code section 1608.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Barraza — Hair attached to a person is not property for robbery

automatic / September 30, 2026

The Court of Appeal held that attached human hair is part of the body, not personal property under Penal Code section 211. California generally regulates human tissue through specialized statutes rather than ordinary property law, and no statute converts hair severed and taken in a continuous act into property as the Legislature has done for crops and fixtures.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

In re X.G. — Juvenile courts may reduce restitution for compelling reasons

automatic / September 30, 2026

The Court of Appeal reversed and remanded. It held that section 730.6 gives juvenile courts discretion to award less than full economic loss when compelling and extraordinary reasons support a reduction. A minor’s responsibility and fault are relevant, though the statute does not make ability to pay the controlling consideration.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Atencio — Incidental movement cannot support kidnapping for robbery

automatic / September 30, 2026

The Court of Appeal reversed the kidnapping-for-robbery conviction because the movements inside the home did not satisfy the independent asportation requirement; they were incidental to accomplishing the robbery. It left the false-imprisonment conviction intact because that offense does not require movement.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

In re J.G. — Juvenile Restitution Must Account for All Responsible Participants

automatic / September 29, 2026

A juvenile court must consider the fault of all potentially responsible participants when allocating restitution, even if only one minor was charged.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Litigation

Medrano v. Acosta — Ninth Circuit Upholds Police Use of Force in Felony Arrest

automatic / September 25, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that officers did not violate clearly established law by pointing firearms during a felony arrest and granted qualified immunity.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Cortez — Juvenile Resentencing Statute Does Not Cover a 46-Year-to-Life Term

automatic / September 24, 2026

A California Court of Appeal held that a juvenile’s 46-year-eight-month-to-life sentence was not life without parole and did not qualify for Penal Code section 1170 resentencing.

6th District Court of Appeal, Agriculture, Criminal Law

People v. Madruga — Food-Animal Exception Did Not Permit Killing Students’ Livestock

automatic / September 24, 2026

A California Court of Appeal held that the statutory right to kill animals for food does not permit someone to kill another person’s livestock without consent.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Litigation

United States v. Rivera — Cash conversion and drug-premises enhancement upheld at sentencing

automatic / September 23, 2026

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a methamphetamine and ammunition conviction, approving cash-to-drug conversion and a drug-premises sentencing enhancement.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Litigation

Cannon v. United States — Recovered funds remain reachable after an FBI agent stole seized cash

automatic / September 23, 2026

An amended Ninth Circuit opinion allows a Rule 41(g) claim where the government recovered funds traceable to cash stolen by an FBI agent after seizure.

4th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Cruz — Codefendant Trial Transcripts Did Not Violate Due Process at Resentencing

automatic / September 22, 2026

Using a codefendant’s trial transcripts at a Penal Code section 1172.6 hearing did not violate due process because the petitioner could present and test evidence.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal Law

United States v. Primrose — A Stolen Identity Cannot Be Acquired by Long Use

automatic / September 22, 2026

The Ninth Circuit rejected the claim that decades of use can create ownership of a deceased child’s identity and affirmed identity-theft and false-statement convictions.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Centeno — Aggravated kidnapping does not require proof that a demand was wrongful

automatic / September 21, 2026

Aggravated kidnapping to exact money or value does not require proof that the demand was wrongful or that the defendant believed nothing was owed.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Montes v. Superior Court — Prosecutors bear the burden to justify withholding jury-selection notes

automatic / September 21, 2026

A defendant may obtain prosecution jury-selection notes in postconviction discovery without first making a prima facie showing of racial bias.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Collections & Creditor Rights, Criminal Law

People v. Bankers Insurance Co. — Bail exoneration could remain conditioned on later-calculated extradition costs

automatic / September 18, 2026

A court may exonerate a bail bond subject to later-calculated extradition costs, and the expiration of the appearance period does not erase that reimbursement condition.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Adam — Witness travel and unexplained courtroom unavailability did not justify missing the misdemeanor speedy-trial deadline

automatic / September 18, 2026

The court reversed a misdemeanor conviction because witness travel ending before the last day and unexplained courtroom unavailability did not establish good cause to exceed section 1382’s deadline.

5th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Superior Court (Jackson) — Prosecutors cannot compel their own mental-health examination of a defendant seeking pretrial diversion

automatic / September 17, 2026

Prosecutors cannot compel their own mental-health examination of a defendant seeking pretrial diversion.

4th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Williams — Broad sentencing statistics did not establish a prima facie Racial Justice Act claim

automatic / September 17, 2026

A broad racial disparity statistic covering multiple kinds of enhancements did not establish a prima facie California Racial Justice Act violation without controlled analysis or comparable cases.