People v. Mendivil CA3

DISCUSSION

Senate Bill No. 775 was passed as nonurgency legislation during the regular session and its amendments to section 1170.95 became effective January 1, 2022. (Cal. Const., art. IV, § 8, subd. (c)(1); see also People v. Camba (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 857, 862.) Among other things, the bill amends section 1170.95 to apply to a petitioner who “was convicted of . . . manslaughter” after accepting a “plea offer in lieu of a trial at which the petitioner could have been convicted of murder or attempted murder.” (Stats. 2021, ch. 551, § 2.) Because section 1170.95, as amended, now applies to petitioners convicted of voluntary manslaughter, such as defendant, the parties agree that defendant should receive the benefit of the legislation. We agree defendant is entitled to the benefit of the new provisions in section 1170.95. (See Western Security Bank v. Superior Court (1997) 15 Cal.4th 232, 243.) Under the amended section 1170.95, subdivision (c), after the parties have had an opportunity to submit briefing, the petitioner is entitled to a hearing to determine whether the petition states a prima facie case for relief. If the petitioner is successful in that hearing, the trial court…