California court requires lawyers in murder case challenges

FILE - Generic gavel on wooden table.

California's Supreme Court says prisoners are entitled to a lawyer when they challenge their murder convictions for killings that others committed. 

The court on Monday ruled that prisoners have the right to court-appointed attorneys to help them when they face initial court hearings that will determine whether their challenges can proceed. 

The San Francisco Chronicle says more than 300 such challenges have been dismissed. The challenges are based on a 2019 law that restricted who can face a murder conviction for a deadly crime to those who were directly involved in the killing or showed "reckless indifference to human life."