People v. Delgado

Case No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
S192704	2nd App.	01/08/13	04/04/2013	6-1	Werdegar	2013

Issue: Whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct, sua sponte, on the law of accomplice liability.

Holding: Although the court was required to instruct on aiding and abetting liability as a general legal principle raised by the evidence, the error was harmless and thus the conviction stands.  

People v. Gonzales

Case No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
S191240	6th App.	02/06/13	03/18/13	7-0	Cantil-Sakauye	2013

Issue: whether the trial court properly applied the psychotherapist-patient privilege with regard to statements made by a parolee to his therapist during parole-mandated therapy sessions, and, if not, whether the trial court's error constitutes a violation of a federal constitutional right of privacy as well as a violation of the state statutory privilege

Holding: The court agreed with the Court of Appeal's conclusion that the trial court erred in permitting disclosure of defendant's psychological records and in admitting his former therapist's testimony in reliance upon the dangerous patient exception to the psychotherapist-patient privilege. However, the court disagreed with the Court of Appeal's determination that the trial court error constitutes an error of federal constitutional dimension.

Robey v. Superior Court of Santa Barbara County

Case No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
S197735	2nd App.	04/04/13	TBD	TBD	TBD	2013

Issue:  (1) Could police conduct a warrantless search of a package smelling of marijuana under a "plain smell" exception to the warrant requirement? (2) Could police conduct a warrantless search of the package because the mobility of the box created exigent circumstances even after an officer seized the package from a common carrier and held it at the police station?

People v. Santana

Case No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
S198324	4th App.	04/04/13	TBD	TBD	TBD	2013

Issue: Does CALCRIM No. 801, which defines the crime of mayhem, incorrectly require the People to prove that a defendant caused serious bodily injury to the victim?

Biancalana v. T. D. Service Company

Case No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
S198562	6th App.	04/04/13	TBD	TBD	TBD	2013

Issue: When a trustee makes an error in the processing and announcement of a beneficiary's "credit bid" during foreclosure proceedings on a deed of trust, and the trustee has not yet issued a trustee's deed to the highest bidder at the foreclosure sale, does the trustee have the discretionary authority to set aside the foreclosure sale due to that error?

El-Attar v. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center

Case No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
S196830	2nd App.	04/04/13	TBD	TBD	TBD	2013

Issue: (1) Could the executive committee of the hospital medical staff delegate to the hospital governing board its authority to select the hearing officer and the physician members of the peer review panel to hear a physician's challenge to the governing board's denial of his application for reappointment to the hospital medical staff? (2) If the hospital by-laws did not permit this procedure, was the peer review panel selected by the governing board "improperly constituted," requiring a new peer review procedure conducted by a new hearing panel selected by the executive committee?

In re I. J. et al; Los Angeles Dept. of Children and Family Services v. J. J.

Case No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
S204622	2nd App.	04/03/13	TBD	TBD	TBD	2013

Issue: Was the evidence that a 14-year-old girl had been sexually abused by her father sufficient in itself to support a juvenile court's jurisdictional findings under Welfare and Institutions Code, section 300, subdivisions (b), (d) or (j), that her younger male siblings were at substantial risk of future sexual abuse or other risk of harm?