# People v. Mendez

> California Supreme Court · January 14, 1999 · 19 Cal. 4th 1084

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/5452294

## Case

- **Full name:** THE PEOPLE, and v. TRINO VILLA MENDEZ, and
- **Court:** California Supreme Court
- **Decided:** January 14, 1999
- **Citations:** 19 Cal. 4th 1084; 99 Daily Journal DAR 489; 81 Cal. Rptr. 2d 301; 969 P.2d 146; 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 437; 1999 Cal. LEXIS 4
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Brown
- **Judges:** Brown, Mosk
- **Cited by:** 314 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/5452294

## Opinion text

BROWN, J., Concurring.
In the words of the inimitable Yogi Berra, "'It’s déjá vu all over again.'" 1 (Araiza et al., The Jurisprudence of Yogi Berra, supra, 46 Emory L.J. at p. 714.) Thousands upon thousands of more words, and still no closer to a workable standard. (See People v. Lloyd (1998) 17 Cal.4th 658, 667 [ 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 224 , 951 P.2d 1191 ] (dis. opn. of Brown, J.) [chronicling 15 previous attempts by this court to articulate the scope of the certificate of probable cause requirement].) Our jurisprudence “gives fresh meaning to the phrase, ‘[We’re] from the government and [we’re] here to help you.’ ” (U.S. v. Gomez (9th Cir. 1996) 92 F.3d 770, 772 .) It is as if we were trying to render the certificate of probable cause requirement, which is designed “to promote judicial economy” (People v. Panizzon (1996) 13 Cal.4th 68, 75 [ 51 Cal.Rptr.2d 851 , 913 P.2d 1061 ]), as incomprehensible, cumbersome, and inefficient as possible. For the reasons stated in my dissenting opinion in People v. Lloyd, supra, 17 Cal.4th at pages 667-669,1 concur in the result reached here.
Some have questioned the attribution of this statement. (See, e.g., Keyes, “Nice Guys Finish Seventh”—False Phrases, Spurious Sayings, and Familiar Misquotations (1992) p. 152.) “Yogi denies he said it. [Citation.] On the other hand, Yogi did say, ‘I really didn’t say everything I said,’ [citation], so go figure.” (Araiza et al., The Jurisprudence of Yogi Berra (1997) 46 Emory L.J. 697 , 714, fn. 100.)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/5452294. Public record. Not legal advice.