Davis v. Dennis B.

Opinion

MOSK, J.

We determine here that absent evidence of timely prosecutorial knowledge of multiple offenses, a person’s violation of the Vehicle Code resulting in punishment for a mere infraction does not bar the People from trying him on homicide charges arising out of the same prohibited act.

Defendant Dennis B., a minor, while attempting to change lanes on a highway, drove his automobile so as to collide with a motorcycle, inflicting fatal injuries on the cyclist. After a trial on a traffic charge in the Walnut Creek-Danville Municipal Court, defendant was found guilty of making an unsafe…