Cooper

Opinion of the Court by Groban, J.

Assembly Bill No. 333 (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.) (Assembly Bill 333), effective January 1, 2022, amended the substantive offense of active participation “in a criminal street gang” as well as the sentencing enhancement available for a felony committed “for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang, with the specific intent to promote, further, or assist in criminal conduct by gang members.” (Stats. 2021, ch. 699, § 3; Pen Code, § 186.22, subds. (a), (b)(1).)1 Among other changes, Assembly Bill 333 now requires that, in order to demonstrate a pattern of criminal gang activity for the purpose of establishing a criminal street gang, the prosecution must prove that the two predicate offenses “commonly benefited a criminal street gang, and the common benefit from the offenses is more than reputational.” (§ 186.22, subd. (e)(1).)2

1 All further unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 In order to establish that a gang is in fact a criminal street gang within the meaning of the California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act (STEP Act), the prosecution must prove that gang members…