People v. Peterson CA2/3

DISCUSSION

Effective January 1, 2015, section 1170.91 requires sentencing courts to consider a defendant’s “mental health and substance abuse problems stemming from military service as a mitigating factor when imposing a determinate term under section 1170, subdivision (b).” (People v. King (2020) 52 Cal.App.5th 783, 788 (King).) Specifically, section 1170.91, subdivision (a), provides as follows: “If the court concludes that a defendant convicted of a felony offense is, or was, a member of the United States military who may be suffering from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of his or her military service, the court shall consider the circumstance

Proposition 36’s new sentencing provisions. (Ibid.; § 1170.126, subd. (e).)

3 as a factor in mitigation when imposing a term under subdivision (b) of Section 1170.” “In 2018, the Legislature amended section 1170.91 to provide relief for former or current members of the military who were sentenced before January 1, 2015, and did not have their mental health and substance abuse problems considered as factors in mitigation during sentencing.”…