The Supreme Court today announced its April calendar. There are nine cases on tap, all with pro tem justices to be named later. The delay in naming the pro tems could reflect the court’s expectation, or simply its hope, that a new justice to replace retired Justice Kathryn Werdegar will be appointed and confirmed in the next three weeks. If that doesn’t happen — and the time is very tight for it to occur — the calendar will be the eighth straight (since last September) with pro tem justices and will bring to 65 the number of cases with pro tems since Justice Werdegar left the court. As mentioned, pro tems risk an institutional problem.
On April 3 and 4, in Los Angeles, the court will hear the following cases (with the issue presented as summarized by court staff or framed by the court itself):
County of Los Angeles v. Financial Casualty & Surety Inc.: Does the authority granted a jailer under Penal Code section 1269b “to set the time and place for the appearance of the arrested person before the appropriate court and give notice thereof” make the appearance in that court on that date “lawfully required” for purposes of forfeiting bail under Penal Code section 1305, subdivision (a)(4)? The court granted review in January 2016.
Hassell v. Bird: (1) Does an on-line publisher [in this case, Yelp] have a right to notice and an opportunity to be heard before a trial court orders removal of on-line content? (2) Does the statutory immunity provided by 47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1) and (e)(3) bar a trial court from enjoining a website publisher’s actions and potentially enforcing the court’s order by way of contempt or other sanctions? The court granted review in September 2016. [Disclosure: Horvitz & Levy filed an amici curiae brief in the case.]
In re Cowan: In June, 2011, the court issued an order to show cause why petitioner is not entitled to relief on the ground of juror misconduct. Apparently, one juror in the trial that led to petitioner’s death sentence — which the Supreme Court affirmed in 2010 — failed to disclose that he (the juror) had previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fighting in a public place.
People v. Anderson: This is an automatic direct appeal from an October 2005 judgment of death. The court’s website does not list issues for such appeals.
People v. Ghobrial: This is an automatic direct appeal from an April 2002 judgment of death. The court’s website does not list issues for such appeals.
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. v. State of California: (1) Can a statute be challenged on the ground that compliance with it is allegedly impossible? (2) If so, how is the trial court to make that determination? Although not apparent from the statement of the issues, the statute involved requires certain pistols to have “a microscopic array of characters that identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol, etched or otherwise imprinted in two or more places on the interior surface or internal working parts of the pistol, and that are transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm is fired.” The court granted review in March 2017.
People v. Farwell: (1) Does the “totality of the circumstances” test apply in determining whether a defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his constitutional rights before stipulating to an offense, if the record indicates that the trial court did not advise the defendant or obtain his waiver of rights at the time of the stipulation? (2) Under this test, are references to a defendant’s constitutional rights during earlier stages of the proceedings and the defendant’s criminal history sufficient to support the conclusion that the defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived those rights when entering into to the stipulation? The court granted review in February 2016.
People v. Lopez: This is an automatic direct appeal from a July 2001 judgment of death. The court’s website does not list issues for such appeals.
People v. Mora and Rangel: These are automatic direct appeals from two May 1999 judgments of death. The court’s website does not list issues for such appeals.
[March 15 update: Pro tems announced for April calendar.]
