Amicus, Systemic & Non-Capital Litigation

The Office of the State Public Defender works on a variety of issues and cases that impact our clients and the criminal legal system in California.

Amicus Briefs

Amicus—or “friend of the court”—briefs allow entities who are not parties to the case, but who have a significant interest in the issue being decided, to provide arguments in writing to the court. OSPD regularly writes amicus briefs to support the development of the criminal law in California.
Part of the People v. Clark document

People v.

Clark

At issue in Clark was how the prosecution could meet its burden of establishing a "pattern of criminal gang activity". Specifically, the question was whether the prosecution could present evidence of individual gang members committing separate predicate offenses ...
Part of the People v. Vinck document

People v.
Vinck

At issue was whether youth and intellectual disability must be considered in the context of a Banks/Clark. We urged the Supreme Court to grant review (unsuccessfully) to resolve whether youth and intellectual disability must be considered when analyzing ...
Part of the Nelson (Sergio Dujuan) on Habeas Corpus document

Nelson (Sergio Dujuan) on Habeas Corpus

OSPD filed an amicus letter in the California Supreme Court in support of the petitioner's Racial Juctice Act petition, arguing that the evidentiary burdens were satisfied by the petitioner's summary of statistical data indicating racial disparities in Los Angeles County for charging ...

Non-Capital Litigation

The Non-Capital Litigation program serves two main purposes. One goal is to take appointments in non-capital postconviction matters to ensure that OSPD staff members maintain the level of training, skill, and experience needed to represent clients in capital appeals.

Second, and equally important, we seek to bring to non-capital appeals the highest level of care, attention, and client service.

The program has advanced the law in a wide range of areas, raised novel arguments addressing every stage of criminal trial procedure, achieved success regularly, and worked with clients to ensure their voices are heard throughout the process.

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