People v. Cedillo CA4/2

I.

INTRODUCTION

Defendant and appellant Ana Alicia Cedillo appeals the trial court’s order denying 1 her Penal Code section 1172.6 (formerly § 1170.95) petition to recall her second degree

murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) conviction and for resentencing. On appeal, defendant

contends the trial court violated her statutory and constitutional rights by summarily

denying her section 1172.6 petition at the prima facie stage because the People failed to

submit any briefing to refute her allegations, the court failed to take her assertions in her

petition as true, the court failed to explain its reasoning in denying the petition, and the

failed to examine her record of conviction before denying the petition. Although the trial

court procedurally erred, we find the error to be harmless and affirm the order.

1 Unless otherwise specified, all future statutory references are to the Penal Code. Effective June 30, 2022, the Legislature renumbered section 1170.95 as section 1172.6 (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10), without substantive changes to the statute’s content. We hereafter cite to section 1172.6 for ease of reference.

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Factual…