People v. Miller 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 the trial court wrongly found him ineligible as a matter of law based on this court’s opinion in People v. Miller, supra, C071700. 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 Principles Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.), effective January 1, 2019, revised the felony-murder rule in California “to ensure that murder liability is not imposed on a person who is not the actual killer, did not act with the intent to kill, or was not a major participant in the underlying felony who acted with reckless indifference to human life.” (Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 1, subd. (f).) The bill amended the definition of malice in section 188, revised the definition of the degrees of murder to address felony-murder liability in section 189, and added section 1170.95, “which provides a procedure by which those convicted of murder can seek retroactive relief if the changes in the law would…