Error and/or relief
On resentencing the defendant under section 1172.75, the court was required to resentence the defendant under the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 to determine whether he should be sentenced as a second strike defendant under the Act, subject to a finding that such resentencing would present an unreasonable risk of danger to the public in the context of the Act.
First Holding:
The Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 limited indeterminate life sentences for nonserious, nonviolent third strike offenses. Pursuant to the Reform Act, codified at section 1170.126, a defendant can petition for a recall of sentence and request resentencing. In 2021, section 1172.75 was enacted by the Legislature, directing courts resentencing defendants to use currently applicable sentencing rules and to apply any other changes in law that reduce sentences or provide for judicial discretion” with a goal of eliminating disparity of sentences and to promote uniformity of sentencing.
Authority:
PEN 1170.126
PEN 1172.75
People v. Superior Court (Guevara) (2025) 18 Cal.5th 838, 849
Second Holding:
In Guevara, the Supreme Court held that because section 1172.75 incorporates the consideration of the danger to public safety inherent in section 1170.126, the two statutes operate harmoniously, and section 1172.75 is therefore constitutional and a valid, applicable statute under which a defendant may request resentencing.
Authority:
People v. Superior Court (Guevara) (2025) 18 Cal.5th 838, 850
Third Holding:
Section 1172.75 requires that the resentencing court makes a new determination as to whether a defendant’s resentencing would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety as of the present day. A prior finding that a particular defendant poses a risk to public safety under section 1170.126(f) is unquestionably relevant, and will no doubt be given consideration by a court subsequently resolving a resentencing under section 1172.75 involving an indeterminate Three Strikes sentence.
However, given significant passage of time, it is possible that a defendant who once presented a threat to public safety may no longer do so. For instance, not only may defendants present evidence that they have significantly rehabilitated since a prior section 1170.126 proceeding, but serious illness or advanced age may have substantially reduced the danger to public safety they once posed. Realistically assessing such changed circumstances is appropriately left to the trial court on remand.
On remand, the trial court should conduct an analysis of whether defendant, at the time of the hearing, continues to pose a danger to public safety.
Authority:
People v. Superior Court (Guevara) (2025) 18 Cal.5th 838, 878, fn. 17