People v. Recarte CA2/4

DISCUSSION

A. Legal Principles and Standard of Review Section 1170, subdivision (d)(1)(A) allows “a defendant who was under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense for which the defendant was sentenced to imprisonment for [LWOP]” and who “has been incarcerated for at least 15 years” to petition the sentencing court for recall and resentencing. On its face, section 1170, subdivision (d)(1) limits relief to juvenile offenders sentenced to LWOP. (People v. Olmos (2025) 109 Cal.App.5th 580, 583 (Olmos).) However, in Heard, the Court of Appeal held that denying the opportunity to petition for section 1170, subdivision (d)(1)(A) relief to juvenile offenders sentenced to the functional equivalent of LWOP violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. (83 Cal.App.5th at pp. 612, 626–634; accord People v. Cabrera (2025) 111 Cal.App.5th 650, 653 (Cabrera); People v. Sorto (2024) 104 Cal.App.5th 435, 454 (Sorto).) “[A] sentence is the functional equivalent of LWOP if it includes a ‘term of years with a parole eligibility date that falls outside the juvenile offender’s natural life expectancy.’ [Citation.]” (Sorto, supra, 104 Cal.App.5th at p. 443.) “[A]…