California Appellate Court Decisions Referencing the Racial Justice Act (Ventura County)

People v. SanMiguel (2024)

Citation: People v. SanMiguel (2024) (Docket: B328160)

The defendant, Joel SanMiguel, was convicted by a jury in Ventura County of willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The jury also found true allegations that he personally inflicted great bodily injury.

The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Six, affirmed the judgment. In the published portion of its opinion, the court referenced the California Racial Justice Act (Penal Code § 745) while discussing the constitutionality of the Act’s automatic reversal provision, citing a dissenting opinion from a previous case.