People v. Jones CA2/8

DISCUSSION

Thirty years have passed since Jones started serving his sentence of 16 months in custody. Although currently he appears to be in custody on another matter, he is not in actual or constructive custody on this matter. Under the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 (Stats. 2020, ch. 317, § 1 (RJA)) the “state shall not seek or obtain a criminal conviction or seek, obtain, or impose a sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin.” (§ 745, subd. (a); Young v. Superior Court (2022) 79 Cal.App.5th 138, 143.) Section 1473.7, subdivision (a)(3) permits a person “no longer in criminal custody” to bring a motion to vacate a conviction or sentence in certain circumstances, one of which is that “[a] conviction or sentence was sought, obtained, or imposed on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 745.” Subdivision (j) of section 745 set out the cases to which the RJA applies:

3 • “(1) To all cases in which judgment is not final. • “(2) Commencing January 1, 2023, to all cases in which, at the time of the filing of a petition pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 1473 raising a claim under this section, the…