California Law - Assault Weapon

Scenario:

18-year old Adam Jones has been arrested for shooting an undercover policeman in San Diego, California. Officer Lewis was part of a team investigating street gang criminal conduct and was out of uniform in an unmarked car when he was killed. Jones, who believed Lewis was a rival gang member, shot him from a moving vehicle with an assault rifle.

Lewis' undercover partner arrested Jones at the scene. Jones fired the weapon from his car, so it was impounded and searched incident to arrest. Within hours of his arrest, the house he shares with his parents was searched. The warrant to search turned up photos of other gang members posing with an arsenal of ammunition and weapons. To their surprise, the officers also found counterfeit plates for US currency and piles of failed attempts to reproduce $20 dollar bills in a locked garage at his parents' home.

Jones' blood level at arrest tested positive for heroin and marijuana. He was also in possession of both drugs. On the way to jail, Jones bragged to the officer that he had shot a policeman and that he would be a hero in prison and with his gang.

The newly elected City Attorney responsible for prosecuting Mr. Jones is Jane Harrison. She announced before Officer Lewis' funeral that she did not intend to seek the death penalty. Under California law, using an assault weapon or killing a law enforcement officer is a "special circumstance" allowing the prosecutor to ask for the death penalty.

During her election campaign, Harrison disclosed that she was personally opposed to the death penalty, and even though California allows it, she was not willing to ask for it even under "special circumstances" that would allow for it. Separate and apart from Harrison's personal philosophy, her opinion reflects the majority opinion of the populous of San Diego, where juries have only returned two death penalty decisions in over 50 years. She won the election handily.

Outraged by the Chief Prosecutor's decision not to seek the death penalty, law enforcement agencies statewide have asked Harrison to recuse (excuse) herself and allow the State Attorney General to prosecute. One U.S. Senator has asked for Federal prosecution and the death penalty. This case has national attention because of the tension between the agency cry for the death penalty and the prosecutor's unusual position of defending against it.

You work as an intern at a premium criminal defense firm in the city. On Saturday, senior partner Steve McBride received a call from a friend to say that his young son Adam had been arrested for killing a policeman and needed help. McBride agreed to help, and he will lead the defense team. He has put together a team of interns to assist him at every step. You are a key player on the intern team. Over the next weeks, you will provide briefings and research on legal and procedural matters for McBride in order to help provide the best defense for Jones.

Adam Jones has been in custody since Friday evening. His arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday morning. It is expected that he will be charged with both felony and misdemeanor crimes.

Outline of the California state criminal process from arrest to sentencing and appeal in misdemeanor and felony matters. Include special time limits that apply.

Use the Library to find legal web sites that give access to the law, cases, and analysis. State bar sites may also offer access to legal sites. Once in those sites, follow prompts to the case law or statutes that interest you. If you do not know the exact name of a case, use key words, "preliminary hearing" or "search & seizure," to get into the middle of relevant cases, etc. Tip: "Annotated" codes are the most helpful because they give you the statute (always start by reading the very law that you are building on) and then the cases that interpret and use the statute. This is helpful in understanding how different facts give rise to different outcomes.

Discuss what your research says will happen in the typical processing of a criminal case.
Please indicate the differences and/or similarities of the following listed hearings in misdemeanor and felony cases in the following stages of the CA criminal process in the context of the Jones's case.

When discussing the following, include any time limits that apply or reference to state statutes (penal codes) for the following

1)arrest warrant and search warrant 2) arraignment and plea 3) bail hearing 4) preliminary hearing 5) motion to change venue (whether or not to seek and why), 6) motion to suppress (indicate the evidence to suppress if any and why), settlement conference, 7) trial, 8) sentencing, 9) appeal