San Francisco Criminal Lawyer Blog

People v. Horton (Cal. Ct. App., May 13, 2025, No. B337373) 2025 WL 1378482, at *1

Summary : Horton was convicted of stalking and making criminal threats against Seiko H. He was acquitted of making criminal threats against Seiko’s father, John H. At sentencing, the trial court issued a 10-year protective order under Penal Code section 646.9, subdivision (k), prohibiting Horton from having any contact with both Seiko and John, and an order prohibiting Horton from possessing any deadly or dangerous weapons. On appeal, Horton challenges the portion of the protective order naming John as a protected person, and the order directing Horton not to possess any deadly or dangerous weapons. The trial court did not err in including John as a protected person in the protective order, because there was sufficient evidence that Horton committed or attempted to commit some harm against John. The court mistakenly extended the weapons prohibition beyond firearms to any deadly or dangerous weapon. The Court of Appeal modified the judgment to strike the order prohibiting Horton from possessing any deadly and dangerous weapons, and affirmed the judgment as modified.

Jury verdict and sentencing

People v. Antonelli (Cal., Apr. 24, 2025, No. S281599) 2025 WL 1249609, at *1

Summary: In 1991, a jury convicted Antonelli of first degree murder under the provocative act doctrine based on his role in a home invasion robbery during which one of his accomplices was killed by a victim. In 2018, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill No. 1437 which, as amended in 2021 by Senate Bill No. 775, makes eligible for resentencing persons convicted of murder pursuant to a “theory under which malice is imputed to a person based solely on that person’s participation in a crime.” (Pen. Code, § 1172.6, subd. (a)).Antonelli argued that that he was convicted of murder under “ ‘a provocative act theory whereby malice was imputed to [him] based on his participation in the robbery.’ ” The trial court denied the petition. Antonelli appealed and the Court of Appeal below affirmed, holding that he was categorically ineligible for relief under section 1172.6 as a matter of law because the provocative act murder doctrine “requires that the defendant personally harbor malice” (Antonelli, at p. 721, 311 Cal.Rptr.3d 265), i.e., he was not convicted under a theory by which malice could be imputed to him. The Court of Appeal found the jury instructions given at defendant’s trial to be irrelevant.

Subsequently, the Court of Appeal in People v. Lee (2023) 95 Cal.App.5th 1164, 314 Cal.Rptr.3d 146 (Lee) “disagree[d] with Antonelli that provocative act murder has always had a personal malice requirement.” (Id. at p. 1186, fn. 9, 314 Cal.Rptr.3d 146.) Lee held that it was not until 2009 that our decision in People v. Concha (2009) 47 Cal.4th 653, 101 Cal.Rptr.3d 141, 218 P.3d 660 (Concha) clearly articulated that a defendant had to personally harbor malice to be convicted of provocative act murder. According to Lee, individuals with pre-Concha provocative act murder convictions, like Antonelli  and the Lee defendant, are therefore not categorically barred from seeking relief under section 1172.6. The Lee court determined the defendant made a prima facie case for relief from his murder conviction and was entitled to an evidentiary hearing under section 1172.6, subdivision (d).

People v. Luu (Cal. Ct. App., Apr. 24, 2025, No. G063066) 2025 WL 1189508, at *1–2

Summary:

In 2001, Phuoc Thien Luu was 17 years old when he participated in an attempted home invasion robbery with three other men. One of the men shot the homeowner who survived Police later killed the shooter when they tried to arrest him.

People v. Virgen (Cal. Ct. App., Apr. 7, 2025, No. B333314) 2025 WL 1032450

Summary: Virgen was convicted of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. The Court of Appeal held that:

Thr trial court committed instructional error when it used two pattern jury instructions that, when read together, could have allowed jury to find defendant guilty of second-degree murder under uncharged-conspiracy theory, without finding that he acted with malice aforethought, and the error was not harmless.

People v. Gomez (Cal. Ct. App., Apr. 7, 2025, No. H051210) 2025 WL 1024681, at *1

Summary: Police found a flare gun in Gomez’s possession. Based on an officer’s testimony describing the flare gun, the trial court found Gomez guilty of possessing a firearm as a felon under Penal Code section 29800, subdivision (a)(1). The Court of Appeal held the prosecution must prove the flare gun was designed to be used as a weapon. Here, the record contained insufficient evidence to support such a finding. The court vacated the conviction on that count.

The court reversed the judgment, vacated the conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon, and remanded the matter for resentencing.

People v. McGhee (Cal., Apr. 3, 2025, No. S169750) 2025 WL 1000847, at *1

Summary: A jury convicted McGhee of three counts of first degree murder and four counts of attempted murder. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 664, subd. (a); The jury found true the special circumstances that he committed multiple murders (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3)) and that he committed two of the three murders while participating in, and for the benefit of, a criminal street gang (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(22)). The first jury deadlocked as to penalty. On retrial of the penalty phase, a different jury returned a verdict of death.

The California Supreme Court reversed McGhee’s conviction and sentence because of the erroneous discharge of a juror during guilt phase deliberations,

Summary: Annette Gaylene Batten served a life term for murder and was released on lifetime parole in 2017. In 2023, she committed two parole violations. Penal Code section 3000.08, subdivision (h) required the court to remand her to the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Batten appealed, arguing that under a statute enacted in 2020, someone convicted of murder but released on parole after July 2020 would have been placed on parole for only three years and woud have been eligible for punishments other than mandatory remand to the CDCR. (§§ 3000.01, as enacted by Stats. 2020, ch. 29, § 18, 3000.08, subds. (f) & (g).) Batten claims her right to equal protection was violated under strict scrutiny or, in the alternative, rational basis review. The Court of Appeal affirmed because a rational basis review applies and that there is a rational basis to treat the two groups of inmates differently.

Background

Batten was convicted of first degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison. She was released on parole in August 2017. She performed well on parole, but at a parole revocation hearing in December 2023, Batten admitted two violations of the conditions of her parole based on a 2021 driving under the influence arrest. The trial court ordered Batten’s parole revoked and remanded her to the custody of the CDCR and the jurisdiction of the Board of Parole Hearings (Board) for future parole consideration. In June 2024, the Board denied Batten’s request for parole for one year.