People v. Burris CA2/6

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In March 1994, appellant was an inmate at California Men’s Colony. Correctional staff searched appellant and found a manufactured weapon with a four- and one-half inch sharpened point. Appellant voluntarily offered, “I had the weapon for my own protection, if they let me go I’ll make another one.” A jury subsequently convicted him of possessing a weapon in violation of section 4502. The jury also found true allegations that appellant had suffered two prior strike convictions (§ 667, subd. (d)) and

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated. served two prior prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). The trial court sentenced him to an indeterminate state prison term of 27 years to life. In October 2014, appellant filed a petition to recall his sentence under section 1170.126. At the outset of the May 2015 hearing on the petition, the trial court stated its assumption that the prosecutor “wish[ed] to submit the entire packet from C.D.C.R. [the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] as the People bear the burden of proof of dangerousness as far as the opposition to the petition[.]” The prosecutor replied, “That’s…