The Daily Journal interviewed Manatt’s Ben Shatz, co-chair of the firm’s appellate practice, for an article about the California Supreme Court’s ruling in a voluntarily accepted case. In an unusual move, the high court accepted the underlying case for review without a petition from either prosecutors or convicted defendant Michael Eugene Maas in Maas v. Superior Court (People), 2016 DJDAR 11125.
Shatz said it was uncertain why the high court accepted review of the Maas case when the justices ultimately affirmed the 4th District's published opinion. In that decision, the court affirmed that criminal defendants who seek post-conviction relief retain a legal right to summarily disqualify a reviewing judge for prejudice.
Shatz, who was not involved in the case, noted that under Rule 8.512(c), the high court can still opt to review a case even when the deadline for filing a petition for review has passed.
"You need to be careful in telling your client the case is done," Shatz said. "You always have to wait out the full jurisdictional time period."