Tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinions in People v. Brown and In re Cabrera. (Briefs here; oral argument video here and here.) These will be the last opinions in the four cases argued on the December calendar.
In Brown, the court limited the issues to: “1. Did the trial court err in instructing the jury on the elements of first degree murder by poison (see People v. Steger (1976) 16 Cal.3d 539, 544-546; People v. Mattison (1971) 4 Cal.3d 177, 183-184, 186)? 2. Was any such instructional error prejudicial?” The poisoning was a mother’s use of drugs while pregnant and nursing her baby, who died five days after birth. Review was granted in November 2019. Last September, the court ordered supplemental briefing on three questions. (See also here.)
When the court granted review in Cabrera in December 2021, it limited the issues to: “Did the sentencing court err by finding petitioner’s conviction for battery with serious bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 243, subd. (d)) was a serious felony (id., §§ 667, subd. (a)(1), 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)), despite the jury’s failure to reach a verdict on the attached allegation that petitioner personally inflicted great bodily injury (id., § 12022.7, subd. (a))? (See Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) 530 U.S. 466; Blakely v. Washington (2004) 542 U.S. 296; Cunningham v. California (2007) 549 U.S. 270.)”
The opinions can be viewed tomorrow starting at 10:00 a.m.