People v. Chacon CA4/3

DISCUSSION

“When 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 life without the possibility of parole has been incarcerated for at least 15 years, the defendant may submit to the sentencing court a petition for recall and resentencing.” (§ 1170, subd. (d)(1)(A).) Section 1170, subdivision (d), has been held to apply to incarcerated petitioners whose sentence is the “functional equivalent” of an LWOP sentence. (People v.

3 Heard (2022) 83 Cal.App.5th 608, 612.) The question presented here is whether Chacon’s 40-years-to-life sentence is the functional equivalent of an LWOP sentence. “The proper interpretation of a statute is a question of law subject to de novo review. [Citation.] When the trial court applies its factual findings under a statute, we review the factual findings for substantial evidence; but the interpretation and application of the statute to those factual findings is a question of law subject to de novo review. [Citations.] [¶] ‘“‘[A]n order is presumed correct; all intendments are indulged in to support it on matters as to which the record is silent, and error must…