When a magistrate dismisses an action or portion of an action, can the prosecutor seek to reinstate the charges pursuant to section 871.5?

When a magistrate dismisses an action, or a portion of an action, the prosecutor may seek review in the superior court and request reinstatement of the charges pursuant to section 871.5. (People v. Murillo (2015) 238 Cal.App.4th 1122, 1128.) "The prosecutor may seek reinstatement, however, only on the basis that the magistrate erred

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as a matter of law in dismissing the action or a portion thereof. [Citation.] The reinstatement motion is not an opportunity to relitigate the issues before the magistrate; rather, it is a means for the superior court to determine the legal propriety of the magistrate's dismissal." (Ibid.; see also People v. Shrier (2010) 190 Cal.App.4th 400, 409 [" 'Thus, . . . a motion brought by the prosecution under section 871.5 is not a relitigation of the [issues before the magistrate]. Instead, it is simply a means to have the superior court determine the legal propriety of the magistrate's dismissal of the complaint' "].)

The People may appeal from an order denying their motion to reinstate the complaint pursuant to section 1238, subdivision (a)(9).⁴ "On appeal, the reviewing court disregards the superior court's ruling and directly examines the magistrate's ruling to determine if the dismissal was erroneous as a matter of law. [Citation.] To the extent that the magistrate's decision rests upon factual findings, we draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the magistrate's ruling and do not substitute our views regarding the credibility of witnesses or the weight of the evidence. [Citation.] We review the magistrate's legal conclusions [de] novo, but are bound by the magistrate's factual findings that are supported by substantial evidence." (People v. Murillo, supra, 238 Cal.App.4th at p. 1128.)

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