What is the test for discretion of a trial court?

California, United States of America

The following excerpt is from Small v. Superior Court, 79 Cal.App.4th 1000, 94 Cal.Rptr.2d 550 (Cal. App. 2000):

A trial court's discretion cannot be arbitrary but rather must be "guided and controlled by fixed legal principles, to be exercised in conformity with the spirit of the law, and in a manner to subserve and not to impede or defeat the ends of substantial justice." (People v. Warner (1978) 20 Cal.3d 678, 683.) "[A]ll exercises of legal discretion must be grounded in reasoned judgment and guided by legal principles and policies appropriate to the particular matter at issue." (People v. Russel (1968) 69 Cal.2d 187, 195.)

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