Lopez

Opinion of the Court by Liu, J.

In the criminal law context, when ameliorative legislation goes into effect, we generally presume the Legislature intends the benefits of the new enactment to apply as broadly as constitutionally permissible to all nonfinal cases. (In re Estrada (1965) 63 Cal.2d 740, 745 (Estrada).) The focus is on finality because ameliorative enactments can constitutionally apply to any case where the judgment is not yet final. (Ibid.) For purposes of Estrada, the test for finality is “whether the criminal prosecution or proceeding as a whole is complete.” (People v. Esquivel (2021) 11 Cal.5th 671, 679, italics added (Esquivel).) The meaning of finality in the Estrada context is distinct from the issue of whether a judgment is final for purposes of appealability. (Esquivel, at p. 679.) The issue here is whether a judgment, or part of it, becomes final for Estrada purposes based on an appellate court’s affirmance of a conviction, while sentencing issues remain pending before the superior court following remand. The answer is no. A criminal case is only reduced to a singular, final judgment following the conclusion of the entire criminal case or prosecution. Thus,…