People v. Jones CA2/4 ( 2021 )


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  • Filed 4/22/21 P. v. Jones CA2/4
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
    California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions
    not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion
    has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
    IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
    SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION FOUR
    THE PEOPLE,                                                    B304692
    Plaintiff and Respondent,                             (Los Angeles County
    Super. Ct. No.YA037935)
    v.
    MARCUS JONES,
    Defendant and Appellant.
    APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of
    Los Angeles County, Laura C. Ellison, Judge. Reversed and
    remanded with directions.
    Tracy Dressner, under appointment by the Court of Appeal,
    for Defendant and Appellant.
    Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief
    Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant
    Attorney General, Charles S. Lee and John Yang, Deputy
    Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
    Appellant Marcus Jones challenges the trial court’s denial
    of his petition for resentencing under Penal Code section
    1170.95.1 We agree that the trial court erred by making factual
    findings prior to issuing an order to show cause (OSC). The
    matter is remanded for issuance of an OSC and further
    proceedings consistent with section 1170.95, subdivision (d).
    Respondent’s request for judicial notice is denied.
    BACKGROUND
    I.     Underlying Conviction2
    A.     Prosecution Evidence
    On May 23, 1996, an employee of the Park Avenue Market
    in Inglewood saw appellant and his cousin, Melvin Jones
    (Melvin), outside the store. Appellant and Melvin put on facial
    coverings, and Melvin drew a handgun from his pants. As Melvin
    and appellant entered the store, the employee saw Melvin
    holding the gun and appellant walking toward the cash register.
    The employee heard something to the effect of, “Okay. This is a . .
    .” before he ran down the street for help. The employee heard a
    1All further statutory references are to the Penal Code
    unless otherwise indicated.
    2Appellant draws his lengthy statement of facts directly
    from the transcripts of his 2000 trial, which are in the appellate
    record, and criticizes respondent’s “bare bones recitation” drawn
    from our prior opinion, People v. Jones (Sept. 25, 2001, B143098)
    [nonpub. opn.], which is also in the appellate record. Because
    both the transcripts and our prior opinion are already in the
    appellate record, respondent’s request for judicial notice of these
    documents and the remainder of the record of appellant’s direct
    appeal is denied. (See People ex rel. Lockyer v. Shamrock Foods
    (2000) 
    24 Cal.4th 415
    , 422-423, fn. 2.) We note that appellant’s
    recitation of the facts is materially similar to that in our prior
    opinion. We draw our summary from both sources.
    2
    single gunshot, then saw appellant and Melvin run from the store
    about 30 seconds later.
    The employee and two police officers who happened to be
    nearby pursued appellant and Melvin. Appellant and Melvin
    were apprehended minutes later at the top of a stairwell in an
    apartment complex. They were sweaty and breathing hard, and
    smelled of alcohol, but they did not appear intoxicated. Police
    officers retraced the route appellant and Melvin had taken and
    found a loaded gun, a bandanna and face mask, a glove, and a
    one dollar bill. When appellant was booked at the jail, police
    found two $5 bills in his left pants pocket and two $10 bills and a
    $1 bill in his right. The bills were crumpled.
    The owner of the store, Won Hee Lee, died of a single
    gunshot wound to the head. Stippling marks on the wound
    indicated that the shot was fired from about six inches away.
    Forensics testing showed that the gun recovered by the police
    fired the fatal bullet. Both Melvin and appellant were found to
    have particles consistent with gunshot primer on their hands.
    B.     Defense Evidence
    Appellant testified that he and Melvin were 15 at the time
    of the incident. At school that day, Melvin twice mentioned
    wanting to do something to get money, which appellant
    understood to mean committing theft or robbery. Appellant
    ignored him, as Melvin had never done anything like that.
    After school, appellant and Melvin played video games,
    drank vodka, and smoked marijuana. They later obtained and
    shared an additional pint of vodka. Appellant testified that he
    felt dizzy and drunk and vomited twice.
    Melvin pulled a gun from his sock and said he wanted to
    rob Park Avenue Market. Appellant watched Melvin load and
    3
    cock the gun. Appellant said he did not want to participate in a
    robbery and tried to talk Melvin out of it. Eventually Melvin said
    he would do it alone and started walking away. Appellant joined
    Melvin, hoping to keep him from getting hurt or hurting anyone
    else.
    When appellant and Melvin reached an alcove outside the
    store, Melvin put on a mask and a glove. Appellant put the glove
    Melvin offered him in his pocket, but tied his basketball
    bandanna around his face. Appellant stayed in the doorway of
    the store while Melvin went to the counter. Appellant heard
    Melvin say a couple words and then heard a gunshot; Melvin had
    shot Lee. Melvin reached over the counter and grabbed money
    from the register; appellant, who could not understand how
    Melvin could think about money after shooting someone,
    nevertheless accepted the money Melvin handed him, balled it
    up, and put it in his right pocket.
    Appellant ran away from the scene with Melvin. While
    they were running, Melvin asked appellant for his bandanna,
    which appellant removed and handed to him. Appellant and
    Melvin ran to Melvin’s father’s apartment, outside of which they
    were apprehended shortly after they arrived.
    After his arrest, appellant told a psychiatrist, “he ‘did
    something stupid,’ emptying the register and running out.”
    Appellant admitted making the statement but said the “he” was
    referring to Melvin.
    C.    Conviction and Sentence
    Appellant was charged with murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and
    second degree robbery (§ 211). The information also alleged that
    4
    a principal was armed with a handgun (§ 12022, subd. (a)(1)).3
    Appellant and Melvin originally were tried together; Melvin was
    convicted of first degree murder, but a mistrial was declared as to
    appellant. At appellant’s retrial, at which the prosecution
    advanced a felony murder theory, the jury found him guilty of
    first degree murder and second degree robbery, and found the
    enhancement true. The court sentenced appellant to 25 years to
    life for the murder and a consecutive term of one year for the
    enhancement; it stayed the sentence on the robbery conviction
    under section 654. We affirmed appellant’s convictions and
    sentence on September 25, 2001.
    Appellant was released from prison on parole in January
    2019.
    II.    Section 1170.95 Proceedings
    On May 15, 2019, appellant, through counsel, filed a
    petition for resentencing pursuant to section 1170.95. In his
    petition, appellant asserted, inter alia, that a complaint was filed
    against him that permitted the prosecution to proceed under a
    felony murder theory; that he was convicted of first degree
    murder under the felony murder rule; that he could not now be
    convicted of first degree murder; that he was not the actual killer;
    that he did not, with the intent to kill, aid, abet, counsel,
    command, induce, solicit, request, or assist the actual killer in
    the commission of murder; and that he was not a major
    participant in the felony and did not act with reckless
    indifference to human life during the course of the crime.
    3Theinformation further alleged a robbery-murder special
    circumstance (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)), but the word “stricken” is
    handwritten next to the allegation, and it does not appear to have
    been pursued at appellant’s trial.
    5
    Appellant also stated that this court “specifically found that Mr.
    Jones did not personally kill the victim, that the victim was shot
    by Mr. Jones’s co-defendant, and that Mr. Jones did not want to
    participate in the underlying robbery, tried to dissuade his co-
    defendant, and only accompanied his co-defendant because he
    hoped his presence would prevent anyone from getting hurt.”
    “Based on the aforementioned,” appellant asserted that he was
    entitled to resentencing under section 1170.95, subdivision
    (d)(2).4
    On July 22, 2019, the trial court granted the prosecution’s
    “second request for extension of time to file informal response”
    and continued the matter to October 28, 2019 “for further
    proceedings.”
    On October 17, the prosecutor filed a response to the
    petition. As relevant here,5 the prosecution contended that
    appellant failed to prove his eligibility for resentencing because
    he was a major participant who acted with reckless indifference,
    even under the frameworks established by People v. Banks (2015)
    
    61 Cal.4th 788
     (Banks) and People v. Clark (2016) 
    63 Cal.4th 522
    4Section  1170.95, subdivision (d)(2) states: “The parties
    may waive a resentencing hearing and stipulate that the
    petitioner is eligible to have his or her murder conviction vacated
    and for resentencing. If there was a prior finding by a court or
    jury that the petitioner did not act with reckless indifference to
    human life or was not a major participant in the felony, the court
    shall vacate the petitioner’s conviction and resentence the
    petitioner.”
    5The prosecution also argued that section 1170.95 was
    unconstitutional. The trial court did not rule on this argument,
    which is not at issue in this appeal.
    6
    (Clark). The prosecution attached our prior opinion to its brief,
    as well as the transcripts from appellant’s trial.
    On October 23, 2019, the court granted appellant’s request
    for additional time and ordered “petitioner’s hearing” continued
    to January 22, 2020. The prosecution notified the court on
    October 28, 2019 that it was unavailable on January 22, 2020;
    the court continued the matter to January 23, 2020 “for
    argument pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.95” and ordered
    appellant to appear on that date.
    Appellant filed a reply in support of his petition on
    December 20, 2019. The reply included a statement of facts
    drawn from exhibits accompanying the petition, including a
    Supreme Court opinion addressing a writ in the matter (People v.
    Superior Court (Jones) (1998) 
    18 Cal.4th 667
    ); our prior opinion;
    a report documenting a July 3, 1996 psychiatric evaluation; a
    “follow up” police report of the incident; a probation report dated
    July 11, 2000; and a transcript of a surreptitiously recorded
    conversation appellant and Melvin had while in the back of a
    police car on the day of the incident. Several of these documents,
    most notably the transcript, were not admitted at appellant’s
    trial or contained in the record of conviction. Citing section
    1170.95 subdivision (d)(3),6 appellant argued that he was entitled
    6Section  1170.95, subdivision (d)(3) describes the
    procedures the court must follow after issuing an order to show
    cause. Specifically, it provides: “At the hearing to determine
    whether the petitioner is entitled to relief, the burden of proof
    shall be on the prosecution to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt,
    that the petitioner is ineligible for resentencing. If the
    prosecution fails to sustain its burden of proof, the prior
    conviction, and any allegations and enhancements attached to
    the conviction, shall be vacated and the petitioner shall be
    7
    to resentencing because “[t]he People failed to prove beyond a
    reasonable doubt that Mr. Jones was both a major participant
    and acted with reckless indifference to human life.” Using the
    frameworks established by Banks, supra, 
    61 Cal.4th 788
     and
    Clark, supra, 
    63 Cal.4th 522
    , appellant further contended that he
    was not a major participant and did not act with reckless
    indifference to human life.
    The court heard the matter on January 23, 2020; appellant
    was present with his counsel. At the hearing, appellant’s counsel
    opened his argument by stating that section 1170.95 “subsection
    (d)(3) clearly puts the burden of proof on the prosecution to prove
    beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Jones was both a major
    participant and acting in reckless indifference.” He then reserved
    the remainder of his argument for rebuttal. The prosecutor then
    asserted, “That’s correct, Your Honor,” before arguing that
    appellant was a major participant who acted with reckless
    indifference. During the prosecutor’s argument, the court
    observed that “the facts are obviously everything in this case”
    and referred to the transcript appellant submitted with his reply,
    asking, “wasn’t there a surreptitious tape made of them in the
    back of the patrol car?” Appellant responded to the prosecutor’s
    argument by arguing that he was not a major participant and did
    not act with reckless indifference. Appellant notes this several
    times, seemingly implying it is relevant.
    After appellant’s argument, the court stated that it “read
    carefully in [sic] great interest the transcript of the conversation
    these two 15 year olds [sic] had in the police car immediately
    resentenced on the remaining charges. The prosecutor and the
    petitioner may rely on the record of conviction or offer new or
    additional evidence to meet their respective burdens.”
    8
    after this robbery.” It remarked, “if I’m reading [the transcript]
    correctly, [appellant] is lamenting the fact that in this plan
    beforehand, he was urging his cousin to give him the gun. He was
    supposed to have the gun in the first place. That doesn’t sound to
    me factually as if - - well, the words speak for themselves.”
    The court then orally denied the motion: “I think that
    factually it’s pretty clear this motion must be denied. Mr. Marcus
    Jones was both a major participant, and he is one who acted with
    complete reckless indifference to human life. He planned this
    crime together with his 15-year-old cousin who was like his
    brother. He robbed the victim together with Melvin Jones. He
    actually took the money. He actually watched as his cousin,
    quote, blasted - - I won’t use the profanities. But he shot the
    victim in the face. And he was well aware and knew that.
    Despite that knowledge, he fled together with his cousin. He
    disposed of evidence with his cousin. And again, they fled
    together. They didn’t go separate directions. He didn’t run from
    his cousin as if he was shocked, appalled, upset, afraid of what he
    had done. He was with full knowledge and participation of both
    the preplanning of an armed robbery, participation in a planned
    armed robbery. He fled with him to the same location disposing
    of evidence. He stayed together with him afterwards. He sat in
    the patrol car with him afterwards lamenting their future and
    saying, no matter what we’re in this together. We’re in this
    together for life. They were together the whole way. He was a
    major participant, and he acted with reckless disregard. The
    language and discussion between these two 15-year-old men after
    they had full knowledge they shot a man in the face is disgusting
    and disturbing and shows nothing but the fact that they’re
    hardened, vicious, and violent killers. So the motion is denied. . .
    9
    . I will not even be addressing the constitutionality of this
    section at all.”
    The minute order entered after the hearing stated that the
    matter had been “called for hearing pursuant to Penal Code
    1170.95(a).” It further stated: “Court finds defendant was a
    major participate [sic] and watch [sic] his cousin shot [sic] the
    victim and both defendant [sic] fled together and disposed of the
    evidence. Defendant Marcus Jones had full knowledge and
    participation of the crime. It was planed [sic] with his cousin and
    he took money. Defendant’s [sic] was reckless and with disregard
    [sic] of the victim. Petition pursuant to Penal Code section
    1170.95(a) denied.”
    Appellant timely appealed.
    DISCUSSION
    Appellant raises two issues. First, he contends the trial
    court erred by making factual findings at the prima facie stage of
    the case. Second, he contends the trial court erred in relying on
    evidence outside the record of conviction—the transcript
    appellant provided—to deny his petition. Respondent argues
    both contentions are forfeited due to appellant’s failure to object
    below, and lack merit in any event because the parties
    “effectively skipped the prima facie stage and litigated the case at
    the post-Order-To-Show-Cause evidentiary hearing stage.”
    We proceed to the merits of appellant’s first argument,
    conclude that the proceedings were at the prima facie stage, and
    hold that the court accordingly erred by making factual findings
    that appellant was a major participant who acted with reckless
    indifference. We need not and do not address appellant’s second
    argument.
    10
    I.     Governing Law
    In 2018, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill No. 1437 (SB
    1437), the primary purpose of which is to align a person’s
    culpability for murder with his or her own actions and subjective
    intent. (See Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 1, subd. (g).) To effectuate
    that purpose, SB 1437 amended sections 188 and 189. As
    amended, section 188, subdivision (a)(3) now provides that “to be
    convicted of murder, a principal in a crime shall act with malice
    aforethought. Malice shall not be imputed to a person based
    solely on his or her participation in a crime.” (§ 188, subd. (a)(3).)
    Section 189 now provides that a participant in qualifying felonies
    during which a death occurs generally will not be liable for
    murder unless (1) he or she was “the actual killer,” (2) he or she,
    “with the intent to kill, aided, abetted, counseled, commanded,
    induced, solicited, requested, or assisted the actual killer in the
    commission of murder in the first degree,” or (3) he or she “was a
    major participant in the underlying felony [who] acted with
    reckless indifference to human life.” (§ 189, subds. (e)(1)-(3).) The
    effect of these changes was to restrict the application of the felony
    murder rule and the natural and probable consequences doctrine
    as applied to murder. (People v. Lamoureux (2019) 
    42 Cal.App.5th 241
    , 248.) “Felony murder and aiding and abetting a
    murder remain crimes, but to be convicted of murder it isn’t
    enough to participate in a felony that results in a death. Now, a
    person so accused must have killed the victim, aided the person
    who did kill the victim with the intent to kill [them], or acted as a
    major participant in the felony with reckless indifference to
    human life.” (People v. Johns (2020) 
    50 Cal.App.5th 46
    , 54.)
    SB 1437 also added section 1170.95 to the Penal Code.
    Section 1170.95 permits a person convicted of murder on a
    11
    charging document that allowed the prosecution to argue felony
    murder or the natural and probable consequences doctrine to
    petition the sentencing court to vacate the conviction and
    resentence on any remaining counts if the person could not be
    convicted of murder under sections 188 and 189 as amended by
    SB 1437. (§ 1170.95, subd. (a).) A petition for relief under section
    1170.95 must include: “(A) A declaration by the petitioner that
    he or she is eligible for relief under this section, based on all the
    requirements of subdivision (a). [¶] (B) The superior court case
    number and year of the petitioner’s conviction. [¶] (C) Whether
    the petitioner requests the appointment of counsel.” (§ 1170.95,
    subd. (b)(1).) If any of this information is missing “and cannot be
    readily ascertained by the court,” the court may deny the petition
    without prejudice. (§ 1170.95, subd. (b)(2).)
    If the petition contains the required information, section
    1170.95, subdivision (c) provides that “[t]he court shall review the
    petition and determine if the petitioner has made a prima facie
    showing that the petitioner falls within the provisions of this
    section. If the petitioner has requested counsel, the court shall
    appoint counsel to represent the petitioner. The prosecutor shall
    file and serve a response within 60 days of service of the petition
    and the petitioner may file and serve a reply within 30 days after
    the prosecutor response is served. These deadlines shall be
    extended for good cause. If the petitioner makes a prima facie
    showing that he or she is entitled to relief, the court shall issue
    an order to show cause.” (§ 1170.95, subd. (c).) A petitioner
    makes a prima facie showing if his or her assertions are not
    conclusively refuted by facts in the record as a matter of law.
    (People v. Drayton (2020) 
    47 Cal.App.5th 965
    , 968, 980 (Drayton);
    see also People v. Duchine (2021) 
    60 Cal.App.5th 798
     (Duchine);
    12
    but see People v. Garcia (2020) 
    57 Cal.App.5th 100
    , 116, rev.
    granted Feb. 10, 2021, S265692.)
    “Once the order to show cause issues, the court must hold a
    hearing to determine whether to vacate the murder conviction
    and to recall the sentence and resentence the petitioner on any
    remaining counts.” (People v. Verdugo (2020) 
    44 Cal.App.5th 320
    ,
    327 (Verdugo), rev. granted, S260493, Mar. 18, 2020.) If the
    prosecution does not stipulate to vacating the conviction and
    resentencing the petitioner prior to the hearing (§ 1170.95, subd.
    (d)(2)), it then bears the burden of proving “beyond a reasonable
    doubt, that the petitioner is ineligible for resentencing.”
    (§ 1170.95, subd. (d)(3).) The prosecution may offer new evidence
    in addition to that within the record of conviction to carry this
    burden; the petitioner similarly may offer new evidence at the
    hearing. (Ibid.) If the prosecution prevails, the petition is
    denied. “If the prosecution fails to sustain its burden of proof, the
    prior conviction, and any allegations and enhancements attached
    to the conviction, shall be vacated and the petitioner shall be
    resentenced on the remaining charges.” (Ibid.)
    II.    Analysis
    The parties disagree about the phase to which the
    proceedings here had progressed. Appellant contends they were
    at the prima facie stage described by section 1170.95, subdivision
    (c), while respondent maintains they had progressed to a “de
    facto post-OSC hearing under section 1170.95, subdivision (d).”
    Respondent also contends appellant forfeited this issue and
    “invited the court to make the necessary findings” by “arguing
    directly that appellant was not a substantial participant who
    acted with reckless disregard.”
    13
    We decline to find forfeiture. Both parties directly and
    extensively argued about whether appellant was a major
    participant who acted with reckless disregard. In accordance
    with the requirements of section 1170.95, subdivisions (a)(3) and
    (b)(1)(A), appellant’s petition asserted that he was not a major
    participant and did not act with reckless disregard for human
    life. The sole substantive argument the prosecution made in
    response was that appellant was a major participant who acted
    with reckless indifference. Appellant would have been remiss
    had he not in reply “argu[ed] directly that appellant was not a
    substantial participant who acted with reckless disregard,”
    particularly where the law in the area was (and in many respects
    remains) largely unsettled. Indeed, Drayton, supra, 
    47 Cal.App.5th 965
     had not yet been decided, and case law in the
    area continues to evolve.
    We agree with Drayton and Duchine, supra, 
    60 Cal.App.5th 798
    , that “the prima facie showing the defendant must make is
    that he did not, in fact, act or harbor the mental state required,
    for a murder conviction under current law.” (Duchine, supra, at
    p. 815.) “[W]hen assessing the prima facie showing, the trial
    court should assume all facts stated in the section 1170.95
    petition are true. [Citation.] The trial court should not evaluate
    the credibility of the petition’s assertions, but it need not credit
    actual assertions that are untrue as a matter of law. . . .”
    (Drayton, supra, 47 Cal.App.5th at p. 980.) “The record should be
    consulted at the prima facie stage only to determine ‘readily
    ascertainable facts,’ such as the crime of conviction and findings
    on enhancements.” (Duchine, supra, at p. 815.) “[T]he time for
    weighing and balancing and making findings on the ultimate
    issues arises at the evidentiary hearing stage rather than the
    14
    prima facie stage, at least where the record is not dispositive on
    the factual issues.” (Ibid.; see also Drayton, supra, 47
    Cal.App.5th at pp. 980-982.)
    Both parties appear to accept this framework; respondent
    even acknowledges that appellant’s claim of “improper finding of
    fact” would be “valid . . . if the case had been disposed of at the
    prima facie stage of subdivision (c).” We conclude the case was in
    fact at that stage.
    Appellant filed his petition; the prosecution filed a
    response; and appellant filed a reply. These events track those
    listed in section 1170.95, subdivisions (a), (b), and (c).
    Subdivision (a) permits the filing of a petition; subdivision (b)
    enumerates what the petition “shall include”; and subdivision (c)
    sets forth the procedure for review. “The court shall review the
    petition and determine if the petitioner has made a prima facie
    showing . . . . The prosecutor shall file and serve a response
    within 60 days of service of the petition and the petitioner may
    file and serve a reply within 30 days after the prosecutor
    response is served.” (§ 1170.95, subd. (c).)
    Once these events have occurred, which they did here, the
    court must determine whether the petitioner has made the prima
    facie showing. (See § 1170.95, subd. (c).) “[S]ubdivision (c) does
    not define the process by which the court is to make this
    threshold determination,” Verdugo, supra, 44 Cal.App.5th at p.
    329, but in practice many courts do so orally after hearing oral
    argument from the parties. The record indicates that is what the
    court did here. A minute order issued October 28, 2019 states
    that the court continued the matter to January 23, 2020 “for
    argument pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.95.” At that
    argument, the court gave no indication that it had already
    15
    determined whether appellant had made a prima facie showing.
    It did not issue an OSC. (§ 1170.95, subd. (c).) Instead, it heard
    argument from both parties, during which neither side presented
    additional evidence. The court then made numerous factual
    determinations, issued a minute order stating that the case had
    been called for an “1170.95(a) PC hearing on petn,” and denied
    the petition. The court did not state, either orally or in its
    minute order, that the facts it found had been proven beyond a
    reasonable doubt.
    The court at no time gave the parties any indication that
    the matter had advanced to the section 1170.95, subdivision (d)
    stage. Respondent suggests such an indication was unnecessary,
    because appellant “invoked the prosecution burden of proving
    beyond a reasonable doubt his ineligibility for resentencing, a
    subject matter strictly within the realm of a subdivision (d),
    hearing.” This is simply a restatement of the forfeiture
    argument, and we again reject it. Without an OSC or some other
    signal from the court, appellant had no way of knowing that the
    “argument” for which he was appearing was in fact the hearing at
    which he would have the opportunity to present additional
    evidence and hold the prosecution to its burden of proof beyond a
    reasonable doubt. Indeed, the prosecution similarly lacked notice
    and may have presented its case differently had it known the
    argument was its final opportunity to address the court.
    As the Drayton court stated: “At this stage of the petition
    review process, governed by section 1170.95(c), the trial court
    should not have engaged in . . . factfinding without first issuing
    an order to show cause and allowing the parties to present
    evidence at a hearing, as described in section 1170.95,
    subdivision (d). Further, the Banks test, which governs the
    16
    inquiry whether the defendant was a major participant in a
    felony necessarily requires the weighing of facts and drawing
    inferences. [Citation.] The question whether [appellant] acted
    with reckless indifference is a similarly multifaceted inquiry.
    [Citation.] In making an assessment of the petitioner’s prima
    facie showing, the trial court should not have evaluated and
    weighed the evidence but instead should have accepted
    petitioner’s asserted facts as true.” (Drayton, supra, 47
    Cal.App.5th at p. 982, footnotes omitted.)
    Appellant’s petition, which was prepared by counsel,
    facially met the requirements of section 1170.95, subdivision (b)
    and did not state facts that foreclosed his eligibility for relief as a
    matter of law. He accordingly was entitled to an OSC and a
    hearing that explicitly met the requirements of section 1170.95,
    subdivision (d). The order is reversed and remanded with
    directions to provide appellant with those things. We express no
    opinion as to the merits of appellant’s petition or either party’s
    arguments regarding the substance of the court’s factual
    findings.
    Because we conclude the court erred by making factual
    findings at the prima facie stage, we need not consider the merits
    of appellant’s strained argument that the court committed
    reversible error by considering a document that appellant
    provided.
    DISPOSITION
    The order denying appellant’s section 1170.95 petition is
    reversed. The matter is remanded with directions to issue an
    order to show cause and proceed consistently with section
    1170.95, subdivision (d).
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
    17
    COLLINS, J.
    We concur:
    MANELLA, P. J.
    CURREY, J.
    18
    

Document Info

Docket Number: B304692

Filed Date: 4/22/2021

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 4/22/2021