On Monday morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinion in People v. Kopp. (Briefs here; oral argument video here.) For quite some time, Kopp was the oldest unargued non-capital case on the court’s docket.
When the court granted review in Kopp in November 2019 (!), it limited the issues to: “Must a court consider a defendant’s ability to pay before imposing or executing fines, fees, and assessments? If so, which party bears the burden of proof regarding defendant’s inability to pay?” More about the case here. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero is recused; Second District, Division One, Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Frances Rothschild is sitting pro tem on the case. Horvitz & Levy is co-counsel for amicus UC Irvine law school’s Consumer Law Clinic.
This will be the third of four opinions in the cases argued on the October calendar. As explained below, the last opinion will be delayed.
Besides Kopp, there are ten other argued but undecided cases in the pipeline: the three on the November calendar (opinions due by February 2); the two argued in December (one of them should file by March 2; see below regarding the other one); and five opinions delayed by post-argument briefing. Four of the five are death penalty appeals (see here and here) — the opinions in People v. Bankston, argued in early May, People v. Chhuon and Pan, argued in late May, and People v. Barrera, argued in June, might not file until February 26, and the People v. Demolle opinion, following an October argument, might not file until April 23. There is also Shear Development Co. v. California Coastal Commission, argued three weeks ago, but with the opinion delayed until as late as May 4 because of supplemental briefing (see here).
The Kopp opinion can be viewed Monday starting at 10:00 a.m.
