Supreme Court of California

Conviction of minor-defendant for second-degree murder is affirmed as People v. Burton, 6 Cal.3d 375 (1971), is no longer good law as the holding was based on the United States Constitution, and Burton's special rule for minors is inconsistent with the high court's subsequent decision in Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707 (1979), which requires courts to determine whether a defendant - minor or adult - has waived the Fifth Amendment privilege by inquiring into the totality of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/28/2010
• Published 01/28/2010

Judges

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Attorneys for Appellant:


• For Appellees:
  
• Elisa A. Brandes, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant., Rourke F. Stacy, Deputy Public Defender (Los Angeles);  Sherry Gold, Alternate Public Defender (Los Angeles);  JiSeon Song;  Michael McMahon;  and Jonathan Laba for Los Angeles County Public Defender, Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender, National Juvenile Defender Center, California Public Defenders Association and Pacific Juvenile Defender Center as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant., Attorneys for Respondent:, Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Ronald Jakob, Steven T. Oetting and Jennifer A. Jadovitz, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.