People v. Watson
California Supreme Court
22 Cal. 4th 220, 91 Cal. Rptr. 2d 822, 990 P.2d 1031 (2000)
- Written by Arlyn Katen, JD
Facts
Bakersfield police officers staged a traffic stop and arrest of a plainclothes police officer who was driving an unmarked car that belonged to the police department. In front of a group of spectators, officers handcuffed the plainclothes officer and drove him away, leaving the unmarked car unlocked with its keys in the ignition. About two hours later, Tray Edward Watson (defendant) drove the apparently abandoned car out of the parking lot, and police immediately arrested him. Watson admitted to police that his niece mentioned the arrest and told him to take the car and that he intended to drive the car around. At trial, the court refused to instruct the jury on entrapment, and the jury convicted Watson of taking a vehicle. The California Court of Appeal reversed Watson’s conviction, reasoning that Watson was entitled to an entrapment instruction because the jury could have found that the police made it “unusually attractive” to take this particular car. The government (plaintiff) appealed, and the California Supreme Court granted review.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Chin, J.)
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