People v. Curiel CA5

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner Juan Alonso Curiel petitioned the trial court, pursuant to former section 1170.95 (now § 1172.6) of the Penal Code,1 for resentencing on his conviction for first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)). The trial court summarily denied the petition at the prima facie stage on the ground the jury’s verdict, including its true finding on a discharge of a firearm from a vehicle special circumstance allegation (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(21)), required the jury to find petitioner harbored the intent to kill and therefore established his ineligibility for resentencing as a matter of law. On appeal, petitioner contends the court erred in denying his petition because (1) his constitutional right to be personally present at the prima facie hearing was violated; (2) he was convicted of murder under the doctrine of transferred intent, which he describes as an invalid theory of imputed malice; and (3) he was convicted of attempted murder under an improper “kill zone” theory and without a finding of intent to kill. In our initial opinion, we held that petitioner did not have a constitutional right to be personally present at the prima facie hearing. We further held the petition was…