I love opening paragraphs like this one:
"After defendant Jon Holm was convicted of second degree burglary, he filed a
petition under Proposition 47 seeking to reduce his offense to misdemeanor shoplifting
under Penal Code section 459.5. The trial court denied his petition on the ground the
private golf and country club from which he stole a flat screen television and golf balls
was not a 'commercial establishment' within the meaning of that section. We conclude
otherwise and reverse and remand."
Thank you! That way I don't feel like I have to read the rest of the opinion. Notwithstanding the fact I invariably do. At least for the casual reader, you've set out the rule in a straightforward manner.
As for the merits, yeah, Justice Banke's opinion seems spot on. Sure, it's a private club. But it's still a commercial establishment. At least in this context. Couldn't agree more.
Oh, and more more thing. Mr. Holm stole "a television, valued at $662.23, and three boxes of golf balls, valued at $50 each, from the
Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club."
Three boxes of golf balls cost $50?! Each?! Holy Moses. I'm not joining the Santa Rosa Country Club anytime soon, that's for sure. I surely can't afford it. (Not that they'd have me anyways, I'm sure.) Heck, I can barely afford the balls.
Plus, I can only imagine how much pain it would cause me every time I whacked a $20 ball into the lake. Golf is supposed to reduce stress, not cause it.
POSTSCRIPT - Clearly I need to play golf a bit more. I knew that golf balls came in sleeves, that a sleeve generally contains three golf balls, and that sleeves are generally rectangular cardboard boxes. Hence that a "box" of golf balls that cost $50 would mean around $20 a ball. But a careful reader tells me that a "box" of golf balls consists of 4 (cardboard box) sleeves. Which means that each ball really only costs $4 ($50/12). Now, since I'm such a duffer, I'd still probably put $20 or so worth of balls into the lake. But glad to know that's several balls, not just one.
