Sea Horse Ranch, Inc. v. Superior Court

Petitioners Sea Horse Ranch, Inc. (the Ranch), and its president, Arbis “Al” Shipley, are charged by information with one count of involuntary manslaughter (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (b)); the Ranch is also charged with one count of willfully suffering a mischievous animal to roam at large with the result that it kills a human being (Pen. Code, § 399). The charges arise from an incident in which a horse escaped from the Ranch onto an adjacent state highway and collided with a car, killing the passenger. Petitioners moved to dismiss the information under section 995. The superior court denied the motion in substantial part, and petitioners seek writ review.

We initially summarily denied the petition, primarily for petitioners’ failure to provide an adequate record. (See Sherwood v. Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal.3d 183, 186-187 [ 154 Cal.Rptr. 917 , 593 P.2d 862 ]; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 56.) Petitioners sought review in the Supreme Court, which allowed them to complete their record in that court and then granted review. The Supreme Court returned the matter to this court with directions to issue the alternative writ. Having done so, having reviewed a record which was not…