People v. Shepherd CA3

I. BACKGROUND

In 2010, a jury found defendant guilty of second degree murder, identity theft, and forgery. The trial court sentenced defendant to 15 years to life in state prison. After the enactment of Senate Bill 1437 in 2019, defendant petitioned for resentencing. Finding defendant made a prima facie case for relief, the trial court issued an order to show cause. In their motion to dismiss defendant’s petition, the People argued Senate Bill 1437 was unconstitutional on several grounds. The People also contended in their response to the trial court’s order to show cause that the court should review the petition for sufficiency of the evidence but acknowledged a split of authority among the appellate courts on this issue. But the People made no mention of their right to a jury trial in either brief. At the evidentiary hearing on April 2, 2021, the trial judge asked whether a beyond a reasonable doubt standard would deny the People’s right to a jury trial. The judge explained he noticed this issue when reading an opinion that “was not controlling authority,” and had yet to see the appellate courts or our Supreme Court address it. The People responded that “it could in certain…