In addition to taking three cases from the Ninth Circuit and allowing the withdrawal of the writ petition challenging the lead-paint initiative, the Supreme Court at its Wednesday conference took the following actions of note:

  • The court denied 102-year-old actress Olivia De Havilland’s petition for review in De Havilland v. FX Networks, but Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar recorded a vote to grant.  (That’s one more vote than the vast majority of petitions garner.)  In a published opinion, the Second District, Division Three, Court of Appeal, on First Amendment grounds, tossed a lawsuit by De Havilland concerning the portrayal of her in a TV miniseries. [Disclosure:  Horvitz & Levy represented two amici curiae in the case.]
  • In Satele v. Superior Court, the court uncommonly decided to hear a case with no Court of Appeal opinion.  The Second District, Division Three, had summarily denied the writ petition in the matter.  The Supreme Court denied the petition for review, but on its own motion issued an order to show cause concerning whether “the superior court abused its discretion by applying Penal Code section 1054.9, subdivision (c) to a motion for access to trial evidence that is in the possession of the superior court.”
  • The court granted review in People v. Partee, where the Second District, Division Five, in a partially published opinion affirmed convictions for being an accessory after the fact and for contempt of a defendant who, despite an immunity grant, refused to testify against four people charged with a gang murder.
  • The court denied review but depublished the opinion in Garcia v. Mercedes-Benz USA.  The Second District, Division Two, answered in the negative the question whether a car buyer is a prevailing party entitled to recover attorney’s fees under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act if, through settlement with the manufacturer, all she obtains by litigating is the payment of dealer add-ons for which the manufacturer is not responsible.  There were over a dozen different depublication requests.
  • The court un-held and ordered briefing in an electronics-search-probation-condition case, People v. Trujillo.  The case had been on hold for In re Ricardo P., which still has lots of other remaining grant-and-holds.  Ricardo P. has been fully briefed for almost two years now and the court sent an oral argument letter in April 2017, yet no argument has been scheduled yet.
  • Reviewing two gubernatorial clemency recommendation requests (see here), the court recommended clemency for a man serving a 25-years-to-life term for robberies and for a man serving a 35-years-to-life term for a residential burglary and prior felonies.
  •  The court granted-and-held two criminal cases.
  • The court dismissed review in eight grant-and-hold criminal cases.