Monday, April 01, 2013

People v. Rivas (Cal. Ct. App. - March 29, 2013)

It's refreshing to see an opinion like this.  Which affirms a conviction on harmless error grounds but does so cautiously and with evident concern.

You see the former every day.  Not so the latter.

P.S. - I also appreciated the long discussion about the differences between the habits of the Nortenos and the Surenos.  I already knew the usual; 3 vs. 4, red vs. blue, etc.  But there was some extra stuff in there as well.  Plus, I smiled when I read this:  "Sureño gangs associated with sports teams that use a blue motif, such as the Dallas Cowboys. In addition, Sureño gang members often wore black Oakland Raiders football jerseys, but the meaning of doing so was unclear because Norteño members were also known to wear that apparel."  Since I'm no expert, but even I can tell you the meaning:  All criminals love the Raiders.