People v. Superior Court (Woodfin)

The People petition this court for a peremptory writ of mandate directing respondent superior court to vacate its findings that real party in interest was to be dealt with in the juvenile court on various felony charges. We shall grant the petition and shall order real party in interest to be tried as an adult.

Facts

The following procedural facts constitute the corpus of this case:

Contention

Petitioner contends the respondent court acted erroneously when it refused to modify, pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 775, its findings of fitness at the February 18 and April 17, 1981, fitness hearings, once real party was declared unfit for treatment under the Juvenile Court Law at the hearing of May 22, 1981. Petitioner argues that this refusal of respondent court to modify its previous findings of fitness, once it ultimately found real party unfit for treatment under the juvenile court law, “constituted an act in excess of the court’s authority.”

Discussion

Before discussing the substantive validity of the acts of the respondent court, we consider real party’s procedural claim that mandamus is not an allowed remedy since petitioner is in reality seek ing…