Vlick v. Superior Court

Summary

The California Court of Appeal considers whether Penal Code section 871.5 authorizes the superior court to review a magistrate's dismissal of a felony complaint based on a magistrate's legal ruling granting a motion to suppress under Penal Code section 1538.5. The majority holds that such a dismissal is reviewable under section 871.5, while the dissent argues that section 1538.5 provides the exclusive pretrial remedy for testing search-and-seizure issues. The petition for writ of prohibition was denied.

Holdings

1. A dismissal of a felony complaint by a magistrate based on a ruling on legal grounds on any motion properly before and decided by the magistrate is subject to review by the superior court under Penal Code section 871.5, including when the dismissal follows a section 1538.5 ruling granting suppression as a matter of law.
2. Applying section 871.5 to petitioners did not violate the ex post facto prohibition because the statute effected a procedural change and did not deprive petitioners of a vested and substantial right or operate to their disadvantage.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Penal Code section 871.5 authorizes the superior court to review a magistrate's dismissal of a felony complaint when the dismissal resulted from the magistrate's legal ruling granting a Penal Code section 1538.5 suppression motion.
2. Whether applying Penal Code section 871.5 to petitioners constituted an unconstitutional ex post facto application.
3. Whether the petitioners were entitled to writ relief based on the superior court's alleged lack of jurisdiction.

Disposition

writ_denied