As expected (here and here), on Monday morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinions in People v. Bankston, People v. Barrera, People v. Chhuon and Pan, and People v. Demolle. (Briefs here; video of the reargument of all of them here; videos of the initial arguments for Bankston (here), for Barrera (here), for Chhuon and Pan (here), and for Demolle (here).)
All four are death penalty appeals that, besides involving many separate issues distinct to each case, also raise significant common issues under California’s Racial Justice Act. (See here, here, and here.) Each case was originally argued separately last year (Bankston in early May, Chhuon and Pan in late May, Barrera in June, and Demolle in October) and then were jointly reargued on this year’s March calendar.
Bankston is an automatic direct appeal from a January 1995 judgment of death. Aside from RJA issues, court staff has noted that Bankston “include[s] an issue involving the retroactivity of the provision in Assembly Bill No. 2799 (Stats. 2022, ch. 973) limiting the admissibility of creative expressions (Pen. Code, § 352.2).” (See here.) Counsel was appointed in November 1999. Initial briefing was completed in June 2014.
Barrera is an automatic direct appeal from a December 2001 judgment of death. The Mexican government filed an amicus brief in June 2023. Barrera was convicted of killing two of his children. A Los Angeles Times article about his sentencing reported that a letter from Mexico’s consul general “said her country has ‘absolute opposition to capital punishment’ and is concerned about the effect of Barrera’s execution on his surviving children, some of whom are Mexican citizens.” Counsel was appointed in November 2006. Initial briefing was completed in April 2015.
Chhuon and Pan is an automatic direct appeal from March 2002 judgments of death. Counsel was appointed in December 2007 and January 2008. Initial briefing was completed in November 2016.
Demolle is an automatic direct appeal from a December 2007 judgment of death. Counsel was appointed in March 2011. Initial briefing was completed in December 2017.
All four opinions can be viewed Monday starting at 10:00 a.m.
