California Legal Brief

The Rule of People v. Chhuon and Pan is that defense counsel cannot concede a defendant's guilt to any crime over the defendant's express objection to maintain innocence, even as part of an alternative argument strategy, under circumstances where the defendant expressly instructs counsel not to admit guilt and counsel nevertheless argues the defendant is guilty of lesser charges to avoid the death penalty.

The Rule of People v. Barrera is that evidence of prolonged physical abuse, deliberate starvation, isolation, and refusal to seek medical care can support convictions for first degree murder by torture and premeditated/deliberate murder of children, under circumstances involving systematic abuse causing multiple injuries over time combined with fatal acts against severely weakened victims.

The Rule of Anaheim Police Department v. Crockett is that a gun violence restraining order may be issued against a firearm owner who fails to adequately secure weapons from a prohibited person who poses a credible threat of violence, under circumstances where the firearm owner enables access to weapons by someone with a documented mental health history and lifetime firearms prohibition who has made specific threats of mass violence.