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Case Summaries

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Amelioration, Duty of the court, Sentencing

Case: 000122

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

At the defendant’s resentencing under section 1172.75, the trial court erred in failing to resentence him under the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 to twice the principal term for the underlying crime, as opposed to the 25-year-to-life sentence it reimposed. The People concede both of these points. We vacate the defendant’s sentence, and remand for a full resentencing with directions to recalculate the credit for time served.

First Holding:

Even where the defendant is serving a sentence under the Three Strikes law, on recall the trial court is required to apply the Three Strikes Reform Act in a section 1172.75 proceeding absent a finding of unreasonable risk of danger to public safety.

Authority:

People v. Superior Court (Guevara) (2025) 18 Cal.5th 838

Second Holding:

When a trial court resentences a defendant who is currently in custody, it must calculate and credit him with all actual days spent in custody (whether in jail or prison) up to that time, including time in custody after the original sentencing.

Authority:

People v. Buckhalter (2001) 26 Cal.4th 20, 37

Abstracts and Minutes, Duty of the court, Sentencing

Case: 000121

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

The court failed to recalculate the actual time defendant had served pursuant to the sentence for which he was being resentenced and reflect those credits in the amended abstract of judgment.

First Holding:

The trial court, having modified defendant’s sentence on remand, was obliged, in its new abstract of judgment, to credit him with all actual days he had spent in custody.

Authority:

PEN 2900.5

People v. Buckhalter (2001) 26 Cal.4th 20, 37 [The trial court, having modified defendant’s sentence on remand, was obliged, in its new abstract of judgment, to credit him with all actual days he had spent in custody]

Second Holding:

Generally, a clerical error is one inadvertently made. Clerical error can be made by a clerk, by counsel, or by the court itself. A court has the inherent power to correct clerical errors in its records at any time so as to make these records reflect the true facts.

Authority:

People v. Schultz (1965) 238 Cal.App.2d 804, 808

In re Candelario (1970) 3 Cal.3d 702, 705

Amelioration, Duty of the court, Sentencing

Case: 000120

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

The defendant submitted both a petition for writ of habeas corpus and a motion for recall and resentencing under section 1172.6. The trial court erroneously treated both as a petition for writ of habeas corpus, which it denied without prejudice to allow the defendant to separately file a petition under section 1172.6. Though contained in the same envelope and assigned a single case number by the court clerk, there were two separate matters presented to the trial court. The matter is remanded for the trial court to give due consideration to the petition/motion filed for recall of sentence under section 1172.6. There is also an error in the abstract of judgment that should be corrected, depending on the outcome of the hearing on the petition.

First Holding:

The record indicates that defendant submitted not only a petition for writ of habeas corpus, but also a separate motion for resentencing. The title page of the habeas petition states it was being filed concurrently with a motion for recall and resentencing pursuant to section 1172.6. Defendant included a separate section 1172.6 “motion” with its own title page and caption designating it as such. That defendant, a prisoner, mailed the documents in one envelope as opposed to two, and placed his “motion” for resentencing before the exhibits to the petition for writ of habeas corpus, does not change the fact he submitted a separate “motion” to the court. As for the assignment of only one case number—for the habeas proceeding—this was a clerical matter over which defendant had no control. The trial court was required to consider the motion/petition filed under section 1172.6.

Authority:

People v. Lewis (2021) 11 Cal.5th 952, 960 [where resentencing petition complies with the three facial sufficiency requirements of sec. 1172.6(b), the court proceeds to consider whether the petitioner has made a prima facie case for relief under subd. (c)]

Second Holding:

The abstract contains an error on whether the two counts were ordered served concurrently or consecutively. Should the trial court determine defendant is ineligible for relief pursuant to section 1172.6, we direct the trial court to issue an amended abstract of judgment that corrects this error.

Authority:

People v. Mitchell (2001) 26 Cal.4th 181, 185 [courts may correct clerical error in their records at any time and appellate courts that have assumed jurisdiction over a case may order correction of abstracts of judgment that do not accurately reflect judgment]

Amelioration, Sentencing, Statutory interpretation

Case: 000119

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

Because punishments on his prison priors were stricken, the trial court ruled that the defendant was ineligible for relief under section 1172.75. We reverse and remand for resentencing.

Holding:

A pre-Rhodius case on point convincingly concluded that section 1172.75 applies to enhancements that were stricken at sentencing, not just those that are imposed but stayed at sentencing. We agree with the Espino majority that there is no sound reason to differentiate between section 667.5 enhancements that have been stayed and those that have been stricken for purposes of sentencing. In each of these cases, the judgment still contains a now-invalid enhancement for a prior prison term.

Authority:

People v. Rhodius (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1050

People v. Espino (2024) 104 Cal.App.5th 188, 193, review granted Oct. 23, 2024, S286987 [Gary note: The case on review in the Supreme Court was argued and deemed submitted on May 6, 2026. The opinion will likely be rendered within 90 days of that date, or by August 4, 2026]

People v. Cota (2025) 112 Cal.App.5th 1118, 1133

Appellate Principles, Jury trial

Case: 000118

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

The judgment must be reversed because the trial court deprived the defendant of his statutory rights under Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7 when it failed to sustain defense counsel’s objections to the prosecutor’s use of peremptory challenges to two prospective jurors. We reverse the judgment and remand the matter for a new trial.

First Holding:

At its core, Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7 precludes either party from using a peremptory challenge to remove a prospective juror on the basis of the prospective juror’s race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation, or the perceived membership of the prospective juror in any of those groups.

Once the objection is made, the trial court must evaluate the reasons given to justify the peremptory challenge in light of the totality of the circumstances. It must consider only the reasons actually given and not speculate on, or assume the existence of, other possible justifications for the use of the peremptory challenge. If the court determines there is a substantial likelihood that an objectively reasonable person would view race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation, or perceived membership in any of those groups, as a factor in the use of the peremptory challenge, then the objection shall be sustained.

The court need not find purposeful discrimination to sustain the objection. The court shall explain the reasons for its ruling on the record.

Authority:

CCP 231.7(d)(1)

Second Holding:

The statute acknowledges that unconscious bias, in addition to purposeful discrimination, has resulted in the unfair exclusion of potential jurors in the State of California. It defines ‘unconscious bias’ to include both implicit and institutional biases.

Authority:

CCP 231.7(d)(2)(C)

Third Holding:

A peremptory challenge for any of certain enumerated reasons is presumed to be invalid unless the party exercising the peremptory challenge can show by clear and convincing evidence that an objectively reasonable person would view the rationale as unrelated to a prospective juror’s race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation, or perceived membership in any of those groups, and that the reasons articulated bear on the prospective juror’s ability to be fair and impartial in the case.

Authority:

CCP 231.7(e)

Fourth Holding:

The term “clear and convincing” refers to the degree of certainty the factfinder must have in determining whether the reasons given for the exercise of a peremptory challenge are unrelated to the prospective juror’s cognizable group membership, bearing in mind conscious and unconscious bias. To determine that a presumption of invalidity has been overcome, the factfinder shall determine that it is highly probable that the reasons given for the exercise of a peremptory challenge are unrelated to conscious or unconscious bias and are instead specific to the juror and bear on that juror’s ability to be fair and impartial in the case.

Authority:

CCP 231.7(f)

Fifth Holding:

Section 231.7(g) provides a list of reasons for peremptory challenges that have historically been associated with improper discrimination.

Authority:

CCP 231.7(g)(1)(A) and (B)

Sixth Holding:

he denial of an objection made under section 231.7 shall be reviewed by the appellate court de novo, with the trial court’s express factual findings reviewed for substantial evidence.

The appellate court shall not impute to the trial court any findings, including findings of a prospective juror’s demeanor, that the trial court did not expressly state on the record. The reviewing court shall consider only reasons actually given under subdivision (c) and shall not speculate as to or consider reasons that were not given to explain either the party’s use of the peremptory challenge or the party’s failure to challenge similarly situated jurors who are not members of the same cognizable group as the challenged juror, regardless of whether the moving party made a comparative analysis argument in the trial court.

Should the appellate court determine that the objection was erroneously denied, that error shall be deemed prejudicial, the judgment shall be reversed, and the case remanded for a new trial.

Authority:

CCP 231.7(j)

Seventh Holding:

[GARY NOTE: The opinion examined the details of the voir dire and procedures followed, and cited several published opinions as examples of resolutions of the problem. Rather than write a full tome, I have chosen simply to list the published cases, which you may want to read if you have a similar issue in your case(s).]

Authority:

People v. Caparrotta (2024) 103 Cal.App.5th 874, 892 [the role of the two-step procedure set forth in section 231.7, subdivision (g)(2) is to determine whether the presumption of invalidity has been rebutted]

McDaniel v. Superior Court (2025) 111 Cal.App.5th 228, 243 [discussing racial disparities in charging decisions]

People v. Aranda (2012) 55 Cal.4th 342, 364 [the high court has identified as structural error constitutional violations such as racial discrimination in jury selection]

People v. Cahill (1993) 5 Cal.4th 478 [certain structural errors require reversal notwithstanding the strength of evidence in a particular case]

Eighth Holding:

[GARY NOTE: Amicus curiae filed a brief that, in essence, challenged the legality of section 231.7, an issue not raised by either party in the appeal.] The second issue regarding the Legislature’s ability to require reversal was not raised by either party, either before the trial court or in this appeal. Amicus curiae must accept the issues made and propositions urged by the appealing parties, and any additional questions presented in a brief filed by an amicus curie will not be considered.

Authority:

People v. Hannon (2016) 5 Cal.App.5th 94, 105