On Monday morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinion in In re Lopez. (Briefs here; oral argument video here.)
After the opinion files, there will be two undecided cases from the January calendar. Decisions in those two are expected a week from today.
In Lopez, the court is likely to answer these questions: (1) Does a true finding on a gang-killing special circumstance (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(22)) render Chiu error (People v. Chiu (2014) 59 Cal.4th 155) harmless? (2) To what extent or in what manner, if any, may a reviewing court consider the evidence in favor of a legally valid theory in assessing whether it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury based its verdict on the valid theory, when the record contains indications that the jury considered the invalid theory? (See People v. Aledamat (2019) 8 Cal.5th 1.) The Chiu error was instructing the jury that the defendant could be convicted of first-degree murder under the natural and probable consequences doctrine. About Aledamat, see here. The court granted review in January 2020.
The opinion can be viewed Monday starting at 10:00 a.m.
