People v. Spencer CA4/2

I.

INTRODUCTION

In 1987, defendant and appellant Donald Curtis Spencer was convicted of first

degree murder on a felony-murder theory. This court affirmed the conviction in 1987. In 1 2020, defendant filed a petition under Penal Code section 1170.95 for resentencing. The

trial court denied the petition without issuing an order to show cause (OSC) or holding an

evidentiary hearing.

On appeal, defendant argues the trial court prejudicially erred in doing so and that

we should remand the case for an evidentiary hearing. We agree that the trial court erred,

but conclude defendant invited the error. We also conclude defendant forfeited or waived

any argument that the trial court erroneously denied the petition on the merits because he

failed to adequately address the issue in his opening brief. We therefore affirm the trial

court’s order denying defendant’s section 1170.95 petition.

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

For about two weeks in October 1984 [defendant] and his four friends Jose Tapia,

Larry Marquez, Ray Taboada and Geronimo Cantu planned to rob a restaurant where

Geronimo Cantu’s brother, Juan Cantu, worked in Cathedral City. Tapia learned

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