People v. Levins

Opinion

MOSK, J.

The People ask us to consider whether a magistrate abused his discretion in denying a motion to dismiss a criminal complaint under Penal Code section 1385 when the defendant opposed the motion, and the sole ground for the motion was that the prosecutor who filed the original complaint and thus invoked the magistrate’s jurisdiction had subsequently obtained an indictment charging the same defendant with the identical offense.

This situation arises in the context of the underlying controversy over the constitutionality of the grand jury’s indicting function as presently performed,…