Terry W. Ward

This case involved a dispute over the distribution of the intestate estate of Katherine Ryan to her twenty-six first cousins, including both whole-blood and half-blood relatives on the paternal and maternal sides. The trial court ordered equal shares to all cousins, but whole-blood cousins appealed, arguing that Probate Code section 254 required excluding half-blood cousins from property that had come to the decedent from a particular ancestor. The court interpreted section 254, drawing on its common-law origins regarding descent from the blood of the first purchaser, to hold that half-blood kindred not of the ancestor's blood are excluded in favor of those who are, while whole-blood cousins may still inherit under section 226 even if not of that blood line. The opinion further addressed that the ancestral property rule applies to both real and personal property received by descent, devise, or gift.

family lawproperty

This case involved appeals by three defendants convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of Robert Sherrard, who was found drowned in the Sacramento River after being rendered unconscious by chloral hydrate. The defendants, charged jointly with a fourth person found insane, were convicted as aiders and abettors based on evidence including written statements and testimony; two had initially raised insanity pleas that were withdrawn. The court affirmed the convictions and denial of new trial motions, holding that the corpus delicti was sufficiently proven by circumstantial evidence and autopsy findings, that a motion for separate trials was properly denied, and that no trial errors or deficiencies in representation warranted reversal. The appeals were treated as automatic under state law, with the full record reviewed for any miscarriage of justice.

criminal lawprocedure