Cowan v. Superior Court

BROWN, J., Concurring and Dissenting.

I concur in the majority’s holding that petitioner Gerald Thomas Cowan (Cowan) should be permitted to enter a no contest plea to the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter in exchange for dismissal of the greater charges. However, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion that Cowan must expressly waive the statute of limitations for voluntary manslaughter in order to do so.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

On September 23, 1994, Cowan was charged with three counts of murder with special circumstances and a number of related enhancements.…