People v. Superior Court (Williams)

The People seek a writ of prohibition restraining respondent Sacramento Superior Court from proceeding with trial of a criminal action before the Honorable James L. Long, and a writ of mandate directing respondent court to vacate its order disallowing a peremptory challenge to Judge Long and to issue an order allowing the challenge. We shall grant the People the relief they seek.

A Placer Superior Court jury convicted real party in interest (defendant) of murder (Pen. Code, § 187), rape (Pen. Code, § 261, subd. (3)), robbery (Pen. Code, §211), kidnapping (Pen. Code, § 207), kidnapping for purposes of robbery (Pen. Code, § 209) and burglary (Pen. Code, § 459); the jury found as a special circumstance that defendant committed the murder in the course of other offenses (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)) and was armed with and personally used a firearm in the commission of some of the offenses (Pen. Code, §§ 12022, 12022.5). (People v. Williams (1989) 48 Cal.3d 1112, 1117 [ 259 Cal.Rptr. 473 , 774 P.2d 146 ].) The jury fixed the penalty at death. (Id. at p. 1117.) On automatic appeal (Pen. Code, § 1239, subd. (b)), the Supreme Court reversed the judgment on the ground “the…