In re Covarrubias on Habeas Corpus CA4/1

discussion will focus on Penal Code section 745. All further references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.

2 When referring to obtaining information from state entities we note the Act uses the term “disclosure,” not “discovery.” However, cases discussing the Act use the word “discovery.” (See, e.g., Young v. Superior Court (2022) 79 Cal.App.5th 138 (passim.).) We use both words interchangeably.

3 Covarrubias characterized his briefing as a motion. The trial court responded with a letter to Covarrubias explaining that the Act did not allow a motion for relief at the postjudgment stage of the case. However, the court treated the motion paperwork as a writ of habeas corpus.

2 writ, Covarrubias filed a motion for discovery seeking trial and sentencing transcripts, statistical data regarding charging and sentencing decisions broken down by race, and a copy of the indeterminate sentencing act. The trial court denied Covarrubias’s petition for habeas corpus and dismissed his discovery motion for lack of jurisdiction. Covarrubias appealed both rulings. In May 2024, this court dismissed the habeas corpus appeal, stating, “The proper procedure when a superior court…