SB 1437 Denied Under People v. Holmes Stipulation

Trial court judges, in reviewing a petition for resentencing brought under Penal Code § 1170.95 following enactment of Senate Bill 1437, must determine from the outset if the petitioner makes a prima facie case for relief. This is required under Penal Code § 1170.95(c).

In doing so, the judge will first consider the declaration signed by petitioner, often on a form wherein petitioner checks certain blocks if the petition is filed by the petitioner himself. On that form, petitioner first will often check or initial a box that says an information was filed against him which permitted the prosecution to proceed under a theory of felony murder or under the natural and probable consequences doctrine. Second, petitioner will attest by checking or initialing a block that states he was convicted or pled guilty (or no contest) to first or second degree murder under the felony murder or natural and probable consequences doctrine. Third, petitioner will represent that he could not now be convicted of first or second degree murder under the changed law.

To determine if a petitioner establishes a prima facie case (before counsel can be appointed for petitioner), some courts have interpreted 1170.95(c) as permitting the judge to examine the record of conviction. See, e.g., People v. Cornelius (2020) 14 Cal.App.5th 54, 58.

In the following case, People v. Christopher Falcon (2020 DJDAR 12086), judge Kathleen Blanchard in Lancaster looked at the record of conviction and found that Mr. Falcon entered a plea to second degree murder as an aider and abettor to the actual shooter, co-defendant Anthony Mancera. Mancera was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder.

When Falcon entered his plea, he stipulated only “to a factual basis pursuant to People v. Holmes based upon count one, paragraph one, of the charging information for purposes of entering this plea.”

People v. Holmes (2004) 32 Cal.4th 432, at 436, provides that “if the trial court inquires of defense counsel regarding the factual basis for the plea, it should request that defense counsel stipulate to a particular document that provides an adequate factual basis, such as a complaint, police report, preliminary hearing transcript, probation report, grand jury transcript or a written plea agreement.”

Lancaster CourthouseFor Falcon, the first paragraph of the information, as stipulated to by his counsel, provided:

"On or about July 2, 2009, in the County of Los Angeles, the crime of MURDER in violation of Penal Code § 187(a), a Felony, was committed by ANTHONY MANCERA and CHRISTOPHER ROBERT FALCON, who did unlawfully and malice aforethought murder SERGIO SANTIAGO, a human being.”