What is the test for establishing "evidence of guilt" or "reasonable suspicion" in a murder case?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Valdez, D068994 (Cal. App. 2017):

evidence of guilt" or "reasonable suspicion that [the defendant] committed the crime." (People v. Spicer (2015) 235 Cal.App.4th 1359, 1377-1378.) Here, while the prosecution had a strong suspicion that Valdez had committed the three murders in 2009, the prosecution cannot be faulted for proceeding cautiously. Rather, "[a] prosecutor abides by elementary standards of fair play and decency by refusing to seek indictments until he or she is completely satisfied the defendant should be prosecuted and the office of the prosecutor will be able to promptly establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." (People v. Dunn-Gonzalez, supra, 47 Cal.App.4th at pp. 914-915.)

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