People v. Macias CA4/2

I. INTRODUCTION

In 2007, defendant and appellant Ruben Macias was convicted by a jury of special

circumstance first degree murder (Pen. Code,1 § 187) and sentenced to life without the

possibility of parole. In 2022, defendant filed a motion pursuant to People v. Franklin

(2016) 63 Cal.4th 261, seeking a hearing (Franklin hearing) to preserve evidence of

youth-related mitigating factors that may be relevant to a future youthful offender parole

hearing under section 3051.2 The trial court denied the motion on the ground that, under

section 3051, persons serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole are not

eligible for youthful offender parole hearings.

Defendant appeals, asserting only a facial challenge to the constitutional validity

of section 3051 on the ground that treating youthful offenders sentenced to life without

the possibility of parole differently than other youthful offenders violates the United

States and California constitutions’ guarantees of equal protection. We respectfully find

defendant’s argument unpersuasive for the same reasons we articulated in People v. Ngo

(2023) 89 Cal.App.5th 116, review granted May 17, 2023, S279458 (Ngo),…