People v. Lauer CA2/5

I. INTRODUCTION

A jury found defendant Jamie Lauer guilty of, among other crimes, murder and attempted murder, and the trial court sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole. Those convictions were upheld on direct appeal and in a subsequent habeas proceeding. Defendant appeals from the trial court’s denial of his postjudgment petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95.1 According to defendant, the court erred by concluding, without first issuing an order to show cause and conducting a hearing, that he was ineligible for sentencing relief on his murder conviction. Defendant also contends that the court erred by refusing to apply section 1170.95 to his attempted murder conviction. We affirm the denial of defendant’s petition as to his attempted murder conviction, but reverse on his murder conviction and remand with instructions.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND2

Defendant and codefendants John Butterfield, Jr., Timothy Walder, and Larry Boone were convicted of crimes that “arose out of an evening-long crime spree on the night of May 22–23, 1981. [Defendants] were guests at the apartment of Kathleen

All further statutory references are to the Penal…