In re Robinson

*423 In 2016, the California voters approved Proposition 66, the Death Penalty Reform and Savings Act of 2016. Among other things, Proposition 66 altered the procedures for collateral review of convictions resulting in a sentence of death. ( Pen. Code, §§ 1509, 1509.1.) 1 This case presents a threshold question: Do Proposition 66's procedures for appealing the denial of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus from the superior court to the Court of Appeal apply to a petition originally filed with the Supreme Court prior to Proposition 66's enactment when the Supreme Court first referred part of the case to the superior court for fact finding and then, after Proposition 66's enactment, transferred the outstanding issues to the superior court "for adjudication"? We conclude that Proposition 66's procedures apply and that the Supreme Court invoked those procedures in transferring the outstanding issues to the superior court for adjudication. Accordingly, this appeal from the superior court's denial of the petition is jurisdictionally proper.

*424 FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts and Direct Review of Conviction

In 1993, a jury found James Robinson, Jr. (defendant) guilty of…