California Court of Appeal Apr 13, 2021 No. E074182Unpublished
Filed 4/13/21 P. v. Howard CA4/2
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION TWO
THE PEOPLE,
Plaintiff and Respondent, E074182
v. (Super.Ct.No. RIF1601045)
ISAIAH DAVILON LEE HOWARD, OPINION
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. John D. Molloy, Judge.
Affirmed.
Barbara A. Smith, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and
Appellant.
Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney
General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland and Scott C.
Taylor, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
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Defendant and appellant, Isaiah Davilon Lee Howard, filed a petition for
resentencing pursuant to Penal Code1 section 1170.95 (Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 4), which
the trial court dismissed. Defendant contends the court erred in dismissing his petition on
the grounds that section 1170.95 does not apply to those convicted of attempted murder.
because defendant had been convicted of attempted murder, not murder.
Three courts have held that Senate Bill No. 1437 does apply to those convicted of
attempted murder but only on direct appeal from the judgment: “[W]e conclude Senate
Bill 1437 precludes any imposition of vicarious liability under the natural and probable
consequences doctrine if the charged offense requires malice aforethought. Because
malice cannot be imputed to a defendant who aids and abets a target offense without the
intent to kill, the natural and probable consequences doctrine is no longer a viable theory
of accomplice liability for attempted murder.” (People v. Medrano, supra,
42 Cal.App.5th at p. 1013; accord People v. Larios, supra, 42 Cal.App.5th at p. 968
[“Senate Bill 1437’s abrogation of the natural and probable consequences doctrine as
stated in section 188, subdivision (a)(3) necessarily applies to attempted murder.”];
accord People v. Sanchez (2020) 46 Cal.App.5th 637, 644, review granted June 10, 2020,
S261768 [“[W]e conclude Senate Bill No. 1437 abrogates the natural and probable
consequences doctrine in attempted murder prosecutions.”].) However, “the section
1170.95 petitioning procedure does not apply to defendants for their convictions of
attempted murder . . . .” (Medrano, at p. 1008; accord Larios, at p. 961 [“[S]ection
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1170.95 provides no relief for the crime of attempted murder.”]; accord People v.
Sanchez, supra, 46 Cal.App.5th at p. 644 [The conclusion that “Senate Bill No. 1437
abrogates the natural and probable consequences doctrine in attempted murder
prosecutions . . . applies retroactively on direct appeal.”]) Thus, even if we assumed that
Senate Bill No. 1437 applied to convictions for attempted murder, the petitioning and
resentencing procedures of section 1170.95 do not. Therefore, because defendant’s
appeal is from the denial of a section 1170.95 petition and not from the judgment, he is
not entitled to any relief. The court properly denied his section 1170.95 petition.
III. DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
McKINSTER J. We concur:
RAMIREZ P. J.
MENETREZ J.
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AI Brief
AI-generated · verify before citing
Holding. The court held that Penal Code section 1170.95 does not provide a mechanism for resentencing individuals convicted of attempted murder, as the statute is limited to murder convictions.
Issues
Does Penal Code section 1170.95 apply to convictions for attempted murder?
Disposition. Affirmed.
Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion
“By its plain language, section 1170.95 . . . makes resentencing relief available only to qualifying persons convicted of murder.”
“the section 1170.95 petitioning procedure does not apply to defendants for their convictions of attempted murder”
“the plain language of section 1170.95 limits relief to those convicted of murder; no reference to attempted murder appears in section 1170.95.”