People v. Hernandez CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant and defendant Ernie Hernandez III (appellant) was convicted of narcotics offenses and other offenses in four separate superior court case numbers, and sentenced to an aggregate term of 12 years four months. He filed a direct appeal under only one of the four case numbers. While his direct appeal was pending, Senate Bill No. 567 (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill 567) went into effect, and the appellate court remanded the case on appeal for resentencing. On remand, the superior court resentenced appellant, he did not file an appeal from the resentencing, and the judgment has become final. In this case, appellant filed a petition for resentencing in one of the four cases he was convicted in, and alleged his petition was based on Penal Code1 section “1170(d)(1) ([Senate Bill] 567).” The trial court conducted a hearing and determined he had already been resentenced in the companion cases, and appellant’s counsel conceded the petition was filed under the wrong statute. On appeal, appellate counsel filed a brief that summarized the facts with citations to the record, raised no issues, and asked this court to independently review the record. (People v. Wende…