People v. Superior Court (Du)

Introduction

Defendant Soon Ja Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of Latasha Harlins, a customer in defendant’s store. Defendant was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. The sentence was suspended and defendant was placed on probation under certain terms and conditions. Petitioner (District Attorney) contends the court abused its discretion in granting probation and seeks a writ of mandate directing the court to “impose a legal sentence of an appropriate term in state prison.”

In an indirect way, the District Attorney has correctly framed the single issue in this case: was the sentence imposed by the respondent court “legal,” that is, was it in accordance with statutorily defined sentencing guidelines.

A trial court has broad discretion in determining whether or not to grant probation. In reviewing that determination it is not our function to substitute our judgment for that of the trial court. Our function is to determine whether the trial court’s order granting probation is arbitrary or capricious or exceeds the bounds of reason considering all the facts and circumstances. Utilizing this standard of review, we conclude that the respondent…