People v. Bennett CA3

DISCUSSION

Defendant contends the trial court erred by denying his petition without issuing an order to show cause and conducting an evidentiary hearing. He argues his petition contained the necessary allegations under section 1170.95, subdivision (b)(1), and the court erred by engaging in fact-finding during the prima facie stage of the proceedings. The People concede the issue. We agree the trial court erred by denying defendant’s petition without issuing an order to show cause and conducting the required evidentiary hearing. A. Legal Background “Under prior California law, a defendant who aided and abetted a crime, the natural and probable consequence of which was murder, could be convicted not only of the target crime but also of the resulting murder. (People v. Chiu (2014) 59 Cal.4th 155, 161.) This was true irrespective of whether the defendant harbored malice aforethought. Liability was imposed ‘ “for the criminal harms [the defendant] . . . naturally, probably,

3 and foreseeably put in motion.” [Citations.]’ (Id. at pp. 164-165, italics omitted.)” (In re R.G. (2019) 35 Cal.App.5th 141, 144.) On September 30, 2018, the Governor signed Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg.…