People v. Aguirre CA4/2

DISCUSSION

Defendant contends the trial court erroneously denied his resentencing petition at

the prima facie stage instead of ordering an evidentiary hearing under section 1172.6.

2 We include this background to give context to defendant’s claim in his present appellate challenge that his conviction resulted from the jury improperly imputing to him the requisite malice for murder that his codefendants may have harbored. Defendant does not suggest the trial court considered our prior opinion or improperly relied on facts recited in it to deny him relief. (See People v. Flores (2022) 76 Cal.App.5th 974, 988 [facts as recited in a prior appellate opinion incompetent to preclude resentencing relief under § 1172.6, including “at the prima facie stage”]; accord, People v. Cooper (2022) 77 Cal.App.5th 393, 400, fn. 9.)

3 Denial at the trial court’s initial “ ‘stage of prima facie review . . . is appropriate only if

the record of conviction demonstrates that “the petitioner is ineligible for relief as a

matter of law.” [Citations.] This is a purely legal conclusion, which we review de

novo.’ ” (People v. Evrin (2021) 72 Cal.App.5th 90, 101.)

As a preliminary matter, the People…