People v. Brown CA3

BACKGROUND

In May 1997, a baptism celebration ended in a shooting when defendant and codefendants Matthew Peter Michel and John Franklin Taylor fired at R.S. and Crisanto Guerrero, seriously injuring R.S. and killing Guerrero.2 A jury convicted defendant of second degree murder (§ 187) and attempted murder (§§ 664/187) and found true allegations that defendant was a principal in the crimes and that a principal was armed with a firearm (§ 12022, subd. (a)). The trial court sentenced defendant to a determinate prison term of nine years and an indeterminate term of 15 years to life. Defendant filed a first section 1172.6 petition, which the trial court denied at the prima facie stage in February 2020. In July 2022, defendant filed a second petition and the trial court issued an order to show cause. The trial court received additional briefing from the parties, conducted an evidentiary hearing, and denied the second petition. Additional background is set forth in the discussion as relevant to the contentions on appeal.

APPLICABLE LAW

Effective January 1, 2019, Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill 1437), the Legislature amended the law “to ensure that murder…