EDSEL P. v. Superior Court

This case presents a due process challenge to application of the statutory presumption (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 707, subd. (c)) that a minor alleged to have committed any of the serious offenses listed in subdivision (b) of section 707 is not a fit and proper subject to be dealt with under the Juvenile Court Law. It is specifically asserted that when the minor challenges the sufficiency of the evidence that he committed a listed offense the presumption cannot be applied unless the prosecutor first establishes a prima facie case.

Petitioner, Edsel P., was 17 years old at the time of the commission of the offenses which led to the filing of a petition in the Juvenile Court of Contra Costa County on May 2, 1984. The petition, which alleged that Edsel came within the provisions of section 602, charged him with two counts of attempted murder (Pen. Code, §§ 664/187), and one count of assault with a firearm on a peace officer (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (c).) It was further alleged that during the commission of the offense listed in count I, petitioner was armed with a firearm within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022, subdivision (a), and that during the commission of the…