Gallegos

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner Iroc Gallegos petitioned the trial court, pursuant to former section 1170.95 (now § 1172.6) of the Penal Code,1 for resentencing on his conviction for voluntary manslaughter (§ 192, subd. (a)). The trial court denied the petition at the prima facie stage. At issue in this appeal is whether petitioner’s plea to voluntary manslaughter after the effective date of Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017–2018 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill No. 1437), but before the effective date of Senate Bill No. 775 (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill No. 775), renders petitioner ineligible for section 1172.6 resentencing as a matter of law. We conclude the date of petitioner’s plea renders him ineligible for resentencing pursuant to section 1172.6 because, by the time he entered his plea, he no longer faced potential murder liability under imputed malice theories eliminated by Senate Bill No. 1437.2 Accordingly, we affirm.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 31, 2018, the Tulare County District Attorney filed a complaint charging petitioner with the murder of X.T. (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1), and the attempted murder of M.M. (§§ 187, subd. (a), 664; count 2). The complaint also alleged firearm…