The expected annual drought in Supreme Court opinions ends tomorrow morning when the court will file its decision in People v. Goolsby, which was argued on the September calendar. It’s been seven weeks since the court last filed an opinion.
Goolsby raises the issue whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that Penal Code section 654 and Kellett v. Superior Court (1966) 63 Cal.2d 822 prohibited retrying defendant on a lesser related offense, when the prosecution had not formally charged him with the lesser offense but the jury was instructed on it without objection?
Shortly after granting review, the court asked the parties to also brief these questions: (1) Do the jury verdict and Court of Appeal opinion establish that defendant is guilty of violating Penal Code section 451, subdivision (b), which governs arson of “an inhabited structure or inhabited property?” (2) If so, should defendant’s conviction for violating Penal Code section 451, subdivision (b), be affirmed?
The opinion can be viewed tomorrow starting at 10:00 a.m.
