Summary
California Supreme Court case to review a murderer's claim that a state law requires district attorneys to search for and turn over information (discovery) regarding a conviction and death sentence handed down 19 years ago. Max Lee Barnett, a habitual criminal, was convicted on strong evidence of the kidnap, torture, and murder of his one-time mining partner in a remote area of Butte County. In 1998, the state Supreme Court denied his claims of trial and sentencing error, and the U. S. Supreme Court refused his appeal. In 2004, a trial judge granted Barnett's request for discovery even though he did not have a case pending in that court. The judge ruled that he was required to grant the request under a law enacted by a simple majority of state legislators in 2002, which expanded the discovery rights of murderers sentenced to death. The poorly written statute has given condemned murderers a device to further delay the review of their cases. After an appeals court issued a ruling upholding some of Barnett's requests, the California Supreme Court agreed to review it. CJLF joined the case to argue that the law which expanded Barnett's rights violates a ballot initiative adopted by the voters in 1990. Prop. 115, the Crime Victims Justice Reform Act, requires that legislation changing the rules of criminal discovery must be passed by a super majority of the members of the Legislature. The California Supreme Court decided the issue in another case, People v. Superior Court (Pearson), and upheld the statute. [CJLF brief in PDF.]
