People v. Kauffman CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 2017, after waiving a preliminary hearing, appellant and defendant Mitchell Lee Kauffman (appellant) pleaded guilty to the second degree murder of one victim (Pen. Code,1 § 187, subd. (a)), gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated that proximately resulted in the killing of a second victim (§ 191.5, subd. (a)), and driving while under the influence of any drug and proximately causing death or great bodily injury to a third victim (Veh. Code, § 25153, former subd. (e)).2 He was sentenced to seven years eight months plus 15 years to life in prison pursuant to a negotiated disposition. In 2023, the trial court denied appellant’s section 1172.6 petition for resentencing of his murder conviction for failing to state a prima facie case, and found the allegations in the amended information and his plea were consistent with second degree implied malice murder committed while appellant was driving under the influence pursuant to People v. Watson (1981) 30 Cal.3d 290, 300–301 (Watson). On appeal, appellate counsel filed a brief which summarized the facts and procedural history with citations to the record, raised no issues, and asked this court to independently review…