The Supreme Court last week ordered supplemental briefing in In re Montgomery, a case in which the court granted review to decide, “Must a petitioner allege a prima facie case for relief under the Racial Justice Act (Pen. Code, § 745; RJA) before the trial court can consider a discovery request for disclosure of evidence under the RJA (id., subd. (d))?” More about the case here.
The Attorney General is directed to start the briefing by “addressing the impact, if any, of Assembly Bill No. 1071 (2025-2026 Reg. Sess.) on the issues presented in this matter.” The defendant can then file a reply regarding the issue.
Party briefing was complete in Montgomery before the supplemental briefing order. With an extension granted Wednesday, the Attorney General’s brief is now due December 16 and the reply can be filed by December 29.
The court has also asked for supplemental briefing to address the same issue in four already argued death penalty cases. (See here and here.)
AB 1071 was signed by the Governor in October. The Legislative Counsel’s digest says about the part of the bill pertinent to Montgomery that it “authorize[s] the defendant . . . to file a motion for disclosure of all relevant evidence related to a potential violation of the prohibition on the state seeking, obtaining, or imposing a criminal conviction or sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
