California Court of Appeal Jun 30, 2021 No. E074623Unpublished
Filed 6/30/21 P. v. Trout 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, E074623
v. (Super.Ct.No. CR62591)
DONALD ROBERT TROUT, OPINION
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. John D. Molloy, Judge.
Affirmed.
Steven A. Torres, 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, Eric A. Swenson and Michael D.
Butera, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
1
Defendant and appellant, Donald Robert Trout, filed petitions for resentencing
pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.95,1 which the court denied. On appeal, defendant
contends the trial court erred in summarily denying his petition. We affirm.
On the evening of April 12, 1995, defendant and his codefendant, William Austin,
went to a home in which a mother and her 10-year-old daughter lived. Also present were
a friend (the victim) and the mother’s seven-year-old niece. Austin had a handgun, which
he pointed at the mother. Defendant told the mother to go sit in the family room. The
mother asked what would happen if she refused, and defendant said he would “shoot
her.” (People v. Trout, supra, E025443.)
Austin ordered all four into the living room and directed the victim “to lie face
down on the floor and tied his ankles and wrists.” Austin then called for defendant.
Austin told defendant he did not want to touch the mother or the children. Defendant tied
the mother’s arms behind her. She complained the ties were too tight; defendant cut the
ties with a large knife he retrieved from his back pocket and retied them. “One of the
intruders, probably defendant, demanded drugs and money.” Both defendant and Austin
1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.
2 On our own motion, we take judicial notice of the record in defendant’s appeal from the original judgment, on which defendant below relied, and both parties on appeal rely on for their recitation of the facts. (People v. Trout (Aug. 8, 2000, E025443) [nonpub. opn.]; see Evid. Code, § 459.)
2
searched the house, where mother’s incarcerated common-law husband was apparently
known to keep large sums of money. (People v. Trout, supra, E025443.)
Austin told the mother and girls to go into the kitchen, where defendant hollered,
“What are you doing here?” At that point, Austin said, about the victim, “He’s getting
away.” Austin ran after him. Defendant told the mother and girls to go back into the
living room. He pushed the mother and girls out of the way and followed Austin.
(People v. Trout, supra, E025443.)
The mother and girls heard a gunshot. They heard the victim holler as if he was in
pain. “A few seconds later, defendant and Austin came running out of the family room,
into the living room. Austin retrieved the compact discs and a laptop computer he had
piled on a table.” The mother and her daughter heard the back door shut and a car drive
off. The victim died of a gunshot wound to the chest. (People v. Trout, supra, E025443.)
“Defendant was arrested two days later. While in jail, he told a custody officer,
‘You know I’m not Jeffrey Dahmer, the guy that I shot wasn’t cut up into pieces and all
that.’ Later, defendant told another officer, ‘Hey, I know I was there and that I could
have done something about it. I just watched him do it, and I didn’t do anything to stop
him.’ Defendant also said, ‘I know that because of that, I’m as guilty as my partner.’”
(People v. Trout, supra, E025443.)
On October 13, 1995, the People charged defendant by information with murder
(§ 187, count I), robbery (§ 211, count II), and burglary (§ 459, count III). The People
additionally alleged that in the commission of all the offenses, a principal was armed with
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a firearm (§ 12022, subd. (a)(1)); that in his commission of the count I offense, defendant
personally used a firearm (§§ 12022.5, subd. (a), 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)); that the murder
was committed by defendant while engaged in the commission of a robbery (§ 190.2,
subd. (a)(17)(i)); and that the murder was committed by defendant while engaged in a
burglary (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(vii)). The People further alleged defendant suffered from
A jury convicted defendant on all counts and found true all enhancement
allegations except the personal use of a firearm enhancement attached to count II.3 The
trial court sentenced defendant to an aggregate term of incarceration of one year, plus 25
years to life, plus life without the possibility of parole.
Defendant appealed the judgment, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to
support findings that he committed first degree murder while engaged in robbery and
burglary. (People v. Trout, supra, E025443.) “Defense counsel conceded at trial
defendant was a major participant in the robbery and burglary.” (Ibid.) This court
therefore noted that the only issue on appeal was “whether defendant acted with reckless
indifference to human life.” (Ibid.) This court affirmed the judgment, holding that under
a totality of the circumstances, sufficient evidence supported the conclusion that
3 It is unclear from the record whether the jury found the prior strike allegations true or if defendant admitted the allegations. In this court’s opinion on appeal from the judgment, the court noted, “[t]he jury found defendant did not personally use a firearm in the commission of the murder, and the People concede defendant was not the actual killer and the evidence did not establish he had the intent to kill.” (People v. Trout, supra, E025443.)
4
defendant acted with reckless indifference to human life. (Ibid.) The factors leading to
this conclusion included: (1) defendant knew Austin was armed with a handgun;
(2) defendant himself carried a large knife; (3) defendant threatened to shoot the mother
if she did not comply; (4) the jury could reasonably conclude defendant proceeded with
the robbery despite an awareness that Austin was likely to use a gun if a struggle ensued;
and (5) defendant told the police he shot the victim, and he did not assist the victim.
(Ibid.)
On July 10, 2019, defendant filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to
section 1170.95 in the trial court. On August 1, 2019, the People filed a response in
which they argued Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) was unconstitutional.
On August 2, 2019, the court stayed the matter for 90 days pending the outcome of two
cases challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill No. 1437. (See People v.
Lamoureux (2020) 57 Cal.App.5th 136; People v. Salcido (July 30, 2020, E072629)
[nonpub. opn.].)
On August 28, 2019, defendant filed a second petition for resentencing pursuant to
section 1170.95 in the trial court;4 on September 4, 2019, defendant’s appointed counsel
filed a reply; and on November 8, 2019, pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, the court
continued the stay.
Both of defendant’s first two petitions were form petitions in which defendant 4 failed to check the box indicating, “I was not a major participant in the felony or I did not act with reckless indifference to human life during the course of the crime or felony.” Defense counsel remedied the problems by obtaining the court’s leave to file a third petition in which that box was checked.
5
On January 28, 2020, defense counsel filed a supplemental reply noting that he
had “been informally notified by the District Attorney that he intends to object to
[defendant’s] petition[s] on the basis a special circumstance was found true.” Recounting
the facts and procedural history of the case using this court’s opinion from defendant’s
appeal of his conviction, which he attached to the reply, defense counsel noted that the
jury convicted defendant of first degree murder and found true robbery and burglary
special murder circumstances. Defense counsel argued that because the jury’s
convictions and findings predated the California Supreme Court’s clarification in People
v. Banks (2015) 61 Cal.4th 788 (Banks) and People v. Clark (2016) 63 Cal.4th 522
(Clark) of what it means to be a “major participant” and to act with “reckless indifference
to human life” in the commission of a murder, he had set forth a prima facie case for
relief under section 1170.95.
At the hearing on the petition on January 31, 2020, defense counsel informed the
court that defendant “had missed checking some of the boxes, so [he wanted] to file an
amended petition for resentencing just so that is not an issue that we have to deal with.”
After discussion between the parties, defense counsel formally asked “for the amended
petition for resentencing to be filed.” The People had no objection, and the court ordered
the amended petition filed.
The People moved to dismiss the petition(s) based on what they argued were the
express findings by the jury that defendant had been a major participant acting with
reckless indifference or intent to kill. Defense counsel argued that because the special
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circumstance findings predated Banks and Clark, defendant was entitled to an evidentiary
hearing on whether the evidence supported a conclusion that defendant was a major
participant acting with reckless disregard for human life as those concepts had been
clarified.
The trial court observed that “on the factual issue to be litigated, . . . I believe that
the law of the case ties my hands here. And that is the opinion that I’m giving here.”
“This petition is denied. The Court believes that the Court of Appeal decision finding
this felony murder special adequate is binding.”
II. DISCUSSION
Defendant contends the trial court erred in summarily denying his petition based
on the 1999 jury findings that defendant acted with reckless disregard for human life
given that the later decisions in Banks and Clark “provide additional insight into” the
meaning and factors relevant to such determinations. Therefore, defendant argues, there
was a “stark change in the law post-Banks and Clark” such that “earlier jury findings
cannot be relied upon to conclusively establish that [defendant] acted with reckless
disregard when he committed the underlying crime.” We disagree.
A. Legal Background.
“In 2018 the Legislature enacted Senate Bill No. 1437 . . . , which abolished the
natural and probable consequences doctrine . . . . Under section 189, subdivision (e), as
amended by Senate Bill No. 1437, a defendant is guilty of felony murder only if he:
actually killed the victim; directly aided and abetted or solicited the killing, or otherwise
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acted with the intent to kill; or ‘was a major participant in the underlying felony and acted
with reckless indifference to human life.’ [Citations.] The legislation also enacted section
1170.95 [(Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 4)], which established a procedure for vacating murder
convictions for defendants who would no longer be guilty of murder because of the new
law and resentencing those who were so convicted.” (People v. Murillo (2020)
at pp. 1140-1141 [any murder special circumstance finding under § 190.2, subd. (a)(17),
renders defendant ineligible for § 1170.95 relief as a matter of law]; Jones, supra,
56 Cal.App.5th at p. 482 [“A defendant with a special circumstance finding under
section 190.2, subdivision (d) is not eligible for relief under section 1170.95 as a matter of
law.”]; cf. Gomez, supra, 52 Cal.App.5th at p. 15 [the jury’s true findings on robbery and
kidnapping special circumstance allegations rendered defendant ineligible for § 1170.95
relief as a matter of law]; contra, Torres, supra, 46 Cal.App.5th at p. 1173; accord, Smith,
supra, 49 Cal.App.5th at p. 94; accord, York, supra, 54 Cal.App.5th at p. 258; Secrease,
supra, 63 Cal.App.5th at p. 254.) We agree with Gomez, Galvan, Murillo, and Jones and
hold that the jury’s burglary and robbery special circumstance findings in this case
necessarily established as a matter of law that defendant acted with reckless indifference
to human life. Thus, the trial court properly denied defendant’s petition.
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C. The Proper Vehicle to Challenge a Felony-murder Special Circumstance
Finding is a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
Despite the jury’s burglary and robbery special circumstance findings, defendant
contends that the evidence is insufficient to support a finding that he acted with reckless
indifference to human life under Banks and Clark, which were decided subsequent to the
judgment in his case. He therefore asserts he may maintain a challenge to the sufficiency
of the evidence to support those findings in his section 1170.95 proceedings. We
disagree.
A number of cases have found that “the proper remedy for challenging a special
circumstance finding is by a petition for habeas corpus, not a petition for resentencing
under section 1170.95.” (Galvan, supra, 52 Cal.App.5th at p. 1137; see Murillo, supra,
54 Cal.App.5th at pp. 167-168); Gomez, supra, 52 Cal.App.5th at p. 17; Jones, supra,
56 Cal.App.5th at pp. 483-484 [“‘Jury instructions regarding the mental state required for
a felony-murder special circumstance are not defective if they do not include
the Banks and Clark factors. [Citation.] Indeed, the pattern jury instruction regarding
major participation and reckless indifference remains the same as it was
before Banks and Clark.’”.]) Petitioners like defendant “‘had the same incentive’ at their
original trials to attempt to minimize their involvement in the robbery and their
culpability for the killings as they would have had if their trials ‘had taken place
after Banks and Clark.’ [Citation.] In short, Banks and Clark did not significantly
narrow the definitions of ‘major participant’ and ‘reckless indifference,’ and there is no
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basis for concluding that [defendant’s] jury was asked to resolve different factual issues
than a correctly instructed post-Banks/Clark jury would be asked to resolve.” (Jones, at
p. 484.) We agree with Gomez, Galvan, Murillo, and Jones and hold that the proper
procedure of challenging a felony-murder special circumstance finding is a petition for
writ of habeas corpus.5 Thus, the trial court properly denied defendant’s petition for
resentencing summarily.
III. DISPOSITION
The order denying defendant’s section 1170.95 petition is affirmed.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
McKINSTER J. I concur:
RAMIREZ P. J.
5 We acknowledge the contrary holdings in Torres, supra, 46 Cal.App.5th 1168, Smith, supra, 49 Cal.App.5th 85, York, supra, 54 Cal.App.5th 250, and Secrease, supra, 63 Cal.App.5th 231, which would allow defendants to challenge the validity of murder convictions that predated the Banks and Clark decisions, by requiring the People to prove, once again, the special circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. We simply disagree that the language of section 1170.95 provides defendant an opportunity to relitigate special circumstance findings because of the clarification of the requirements for those findings in Banks and Clark.
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[People v. Trout, E074623]
RAPHAEL, J., Dissenting.
I respectfully dissent because I think it incorrect to require defendant and appellant
Donald Robert Trout, who is challenging his murder conviction under Penal Code section
1170.95 (section 1170.95), to set aside his felony murder special circumstance finding
through a petition for a writ of habeas corpus before obtaining review here.
The changes to Penal Code section 189, subdivision (e)(3), effective at the
beginning of 2019 make it possible for a defendant convicted on a felony murder theory
to challenge his murder conviction under section 1170.95 on the ground that he was not a
major participant in the underlying felony who acted with reckless indifference to human
life. With codefendant William Austin, defendant committed a robbery during which
Austin shot the victim dead; in his 1995 jury trial, defendant was convicted of murder on
a felony murder theory. Defendant’s jury was required to find he was a “‘“major
participant”’” with “‘“reckless indifference”’” when it found true his robbery murder
special circumstance. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 11-12.) But no court reviewed whether the
facts were sufficient under the later decided People v. Banks (2015) 61 Cal.4th 788
(Banks) and People v. Clark (2016) 63 Cal.4th 522 (Clark).
I think our division had it right in People v. Law (2020) 48 Cal.App.5th 811, 825,
when we held that in such a situation, the special circumstance finding, on its own, does
not preclude an evaluation of the murder conviction under section 1170.95. Today,
following other cases, the majority holds that the “proper vehicle” for the defendant is a
1
habeas petition to set aside his special circumstance findings, and that he may not
“maintain a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence” in a section 1170.95 proceeding
until he does so. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 13.) In contrast, I see nothing in the text or
purpose of the statute to require that the special circumstance be set aside through a
habeas petition before the murder conviction can be evaluated under section 1170.95.
Because the evidence supporting defendant’s special circumstance finding has not
been reviewed for sufficiency under Banks and Clark, a court “could properly determine
he was ineligible for relief as a matter of law only after reviewing the available record of
conviction in light of the Banks and Clark factors.” (People v. Harris (2021) 60
Cal.App.5th 939, 956-958, review granted Apr. 28, 2021, S267802.) Here, there are
certainly facts that the prosecution might use to sustain its burden of proof at a section
1170.95 hearing. But under section 1170.95 the court’s authority to make factual
determinations “without conducting an evidentiary hearing pursuant to section 1170.95,
[subdivision] (d) is limited to readily ascertainable facts from the record (such as the
crime of conviction) rather than factfinding involving the weighing of evidence.”
(People v. Harris, supra, 60 Cal.App.5th at p. 958.) For that reason, I would reverse and
remand for the trial court to evaluate the facts through the evidentiary hearing procedures