Frazier v. Superior Court

Opinion

MOSK, J.

Defendant John Linley Frazier, under indictment in Santa Cruz County on five counts of murder (Pen. Code, § 187), moved for a change of venue on the ground that a fair and impartial trial cannot be had in that county. (Pen. Code, § 1033.) The motion was denied, and he seeks a writ of mandate to compel respondent court to grant the relief sought.1 The remedy is appropriate. (Maine v. Superior Court (1968) 68 Cal.2d 375, 378-381 [66 Cal.Rptr. 724, 438 P.2d 372].)

On October 19, 1970, Dr. Victor Ohta, a prominent Santa Cruz eye surgeon, his wife, their two sons aged 11 and 12…