People v. Aguirre CA2/4

INTRODUCTION

Appellant Jose Phillip Aguirre appealed from the trial court’s denial of his petition for resentencing filed under Penal Code section 1170.95.1 It is undisputed that in 2008, Aguirre was convicted of murder under the provocative act doctrine. Accordingly, the trial court denied appellant’s petition, finding section 1170.95 permitted only those convicted under the felony murder rule or natural and probable consequences doctrine to petition for resentencing. On appeal, appellant argued the court erred in finding him ineligible for relief because his murder conviction was based on a theory of imputed malice, which would be impermissible under the current version of section 188. We concluded that by its express terms, resentencing under section 1170.95 was available only to those convicted under the felony murder rule or the natural and probable consequences doctrine, and that provocative act murder was neither. We therefore affirmed the court’s denial of appellant’s petition. In October 2021, the governor signed Senate Bill No. 775 (2020-2021 Reg. Sess.) (SB 775), which, among other things, amended section 1170.95 to provide that a person convicted of murder under a…