People v. Montoya
B243042 (opn 1/7/2015, rev den 4/15/2015 (No. S224457), cert den 10/5/2015 (No. 15-5194))
Year: 2015
Errors: Selective vs. Whole-Record Review
Court: 2d District, Div 4
Errors Found/Argued: Errors not found by another court
Summary: After finding that the trial court should not have permitted Montoya to be convicted of first degree murder on natural and probable consequences theory (Chiu error), court of appeal found the erroneous instruction harmless beyond a reasonable doubt (under Chapman v. California) by positing a false dichotomy – since D said she did not know co-D intended to shoot anyone, guilty verdict on minor charge indicates that jury believed snitch, not D – and by ignoring a lot of evidence in the record from which jury could have had a reasonable doubt about guilt. Petitions for rehearing, review, and cert were denied; re the petition for review, the CA Supreme Court granted a motion for judicial notice of 12 other review petitions presenting similar errors.
Document Links:
Court of Appeal Opinion (Google Scholar)
Court of Appeal Opinion (PDF)
Petition for Rehearing (PDF)
Petition for Review (PDF)
Petition for Certiorari (PDF)