People v. Jones CA2/1

DISCUSSION

Under section 1172.1, the “[trial] court may, on its own motion, within 120 days of the date of commitment or at any time if the applicable sentencing laws at the time of original sentencing are subsequently changed by new statutory authority or case law . . . recall the sentence and commitment previously ordered and resentence the defendant in the same manner as if they had not previously been sentenced.” (§ 1172.1, subd. (a)(1).) The court may also act upon the recommendation of certain state government officials. (Ibid.) A defendant, however, “is not entitled to file a petition seeking relief from the court under . . . section [1172.1]” (§ 1172.1, subd. (c)), and a defendant who nevertheless files such an “unauthorized request for resentencing has no right to a ruling.” (People v. Hodge (2024) 107 Cal.App.5th 985, 996 (Hodge), italics omitted; see also id. at p. 998 [section 1172.1, subdivision (a)(9), which provides that “ ‘[r]esentencing shall not be denied . . . without a hearing,’ ” applies only “once the court has either received an authorized request for resentencing from designated officials or has formally initiated consideration of whether to resentence the…