People v. Cooper CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 2004, defendant Coyetta Lynn Cooper pleaded no contest to second degree murder (§ 187, count 1). After the passage of Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017–2018 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill 1437), defendant filed a Penal Code section 1170.95 petition for resentencing. (Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.) The court denied the petition without issuing an order to show cause. Defendant now challenges the denial of her petition, asserting the record did not establish she was categorically ineligible for relief, and the court erred in using the facts presented in the probation report as a basis for denying her petition. We reverse the court’s order and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Charge and Plea In 2003, defendant was charged with first degree murder (§ 187, count 1); assault of a child under the age of eight by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury which results in death (§ 273ab, count 2), and felony child endangerment (§ 273a, subd. (a), count 3). In 2004, defendant pleaded no contest to second degree murder (§ 187, count 1) and the remaining charges were dismissed. 1 At the…