Error and/or relief
The trial court erred in denying the defendant a full resentencing at the hearing held under section 1172.75. At the initial hearing, the defendant agreed that the court could proceed with striking the now-invalid prior prison term enhancement with the judge’s assurance that the defendant could seek a full resentencing at a later date.
First Holding:
When the defendant did request the full resentencing, the trial court denied it based on the Tang decision, which held that a defendant was not eligible for resentencing because his prior conviction had previously been stricken and he was not serving a sentence under which that prior conviction was a component.
But Tang was not applicable. In Tang, the prior conviction enhancement was stricken on direct appeal a full decade before Tang sought resentencing under section 1172.75.
Here, the enhancement was stricken as part of a single proceeding under section 1172.5 held on two dates. Moreover, the defendant only consented to bifurcating that one proceeding based on the court’s assurance it would later conduct a full resentencing hearing, and it was improper for the court to later render that promise meaningless.
Authority:
PEN 1172.75
People v. Tang (2025) 109 Cal.App.5th 1003
(Gary note: the court did not expressly cite any authority for the recognition that a defendant eligible for relief under section 1172.75 is entitled to a full resentencing. The courts have interpreted section 1172.75 as, by its plain terms, requiring a full resentencing, not merely that the trial court strike the newly invalid enhancements. I have set forth two cases as a convenience for the reader that support that principle, though Buycks was addressing a different statute.)
People v. Monroe (2022) 85 Cal.App.5th 393, 402 [By its plain terms, section 1172.75 requires a full resentencing, not merely that the trial court strike the newly invalid enhancements]
People v. Buycks (2018) 5 Cal.5th 857, 893 [when part of a sentence is stricken on review, on remand for resentencing `a full resentencing as to all counts is appropriate, so the trial court can exercise its sentencing discretion in light of the changed circumstances]