People v. Carter CA4/2

I.

INTRODUCTION

Defendant and appellant Pierre Demetrius Carter appeals the trial court’s order

denying his second Penal Code1 section 1172.6 (formerly section 1170.95) petition to

recall his first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and conspiracy to commit murder

(§§ 182, 187) convictions and for resentencing. On appeal, defendant contends the trial

court erred in denying his petition at the prima facie stage because (1) the prior decision

regarding his ineligibility for relief is not binding law of the case because this court did

not reach the merits of his appeal, and (2) a conspiracy to commit murder conviction does

not conclusively establish that he was convicted of murder under a still-valid theory. We

affirm the order.

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2

On March 8, 1991, defendant met with gang members of the Tiny Dukes and the

1200 Block Crips in a park to discuss a plan to retaliate against their common rival gang,

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…