P.v. Misikei CA2/7

INTRODUCTION

In 2019 Paul Misikei pleaded guilty to second degree murder. In 2022 Misikei filed a petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6.1 The superior court ruled Misikei failed to state a prima facie case because he entered his plea after Senate Bill No. 1437 modified the law governing accomplice liability for murder. The court denied the petition without issuing an order to show cause. Misikei argues he stated a prima facie case because, after he pleaded guilty, Senate Bill No. 775 expanded the scope of legislative changes to the law governing accomplice liability for murder by providing resentencing relief to defendants convicted of attempted murder, voluntary manslaughter, and murder under any “theory under which malice is imputed to a person based solely on that person’s participation in a crime.” We conclude that Misikei is ineligible for resentencing as a matter of law because he pleaded guilty after January 1, 2019 and that Senate Bill No. 775’s amendment to section 1172.6 did not apply to him. Therefore, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Misikei Pleads Guilty to One Count of Murder In January 2016 police officers responded to a…