Supreme Court of California

Court of appeal's judgment holding that a prior dismissal of a felony complaint against defendant barred his current prosecution for the same conduct as a misdemeanor is reversed where the filing and dismissal of the originally charged felony for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, followed in immediate succession by the filing of the lesser misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter with ordinary negligence, did not constitute successive filings for the same offense and thus Penal Code sec. 1387(a) did not preclude the People from proceeding on the misdemeanor complaint.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/13/2009
• Published 07/13/2009

Judges

• BAXTER, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Michael W. Ferguson and Clifford H. Newell, District Attorneys, and David M. Walters, Deputy District Attorney, for Plaintiff and Appellant., Steve Cooley, District Attorney (Los Angeles), Lael R. Rubin, Phyllis C. Asayama and Tracey W. Lopez, Deputy District Attorneys, for Los Angeles County District Attorney as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Thomas M. Anderson, Public Defender, and Daniel M. Geffner, Deputy Public Defender, for Defendant and Respondent., Michael P. Judge, Public Defender (Los Angeles) and John Hamilton Scott, Deputy Public Defender as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.