Satele v. Superior Court

*855 Petitioner, William Tupua Satele, asked the superior court to release ballistics evidence for expert testing in preparation for filing a habeas corpus petition. The court denied the request under the authority of **702 Penal Code section 1054.9, which governs discovery in habeas corpus proceedings involving certain judgments, including a sentence of death. Specifically, the court found that Satele had failed to show good cause to believe his access to the evidence was reasonably necessary to obtain relief, as the statute requires. The trial court erred. Section 1054.9's good cause…