People v. Hodge CA2/3

INTRODUCTION

In 1996, a jury convicted defendant Richard S. Hodge of a special-circumstance murder and a second-degree robbery he committed when he was 17 years old. The trial court sentenced Hodge to life imprisonment without parole (LWOP), plus 10 years to run consecutively for the robbery conviction and a firearm enhancement. In 2013, Hodge filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the superior court, requesting the court resentence him in accordance with Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U.S. —, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (Miller). In 2015, the same judge who presided over Hodge’s original trial and sentencing hearing ruled on Hodge’s petition, vacated Hodge’s LWOP sentence, and conducted a new sentencing hearing. After considering the factors discussed in Miller, the court reimposed Hodge’s LWOP sentence. On appeal, Hodge contends it was reversible error for the same judge who originally sentenced him to rule on his habeas petition and preside over his new sentencing hearing, relying on Penal Code1 section 859c and Fuller v. Superior Court (2004) 125 Cal.App.4th 623 (Fuller). Hodge also contends the court erred in its application of Miller when deciding to reimpose his…