People v. Williams CA1/3

Filed 8/31/22 P. v. Williams CA1/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, A161928 v. (Contra Costa County BRIAN LAMAR WILLIAMS, Super. Ct. No. 5-971571-5) Defendant and Appellant.

Brian Lamar Williams appeals from the superior court’s denial of his petition for resentencing under former Penal Code section 1170.95,1 now renumbered as section 1172.6. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) In relevant part, the trial court ruled that Williams was precluded from making a prima facie showing of eligibility for resentencing because a jury found that the killing underlying his conviction was committed while Williams was “engaged in . . . the commission of” a felony under section 190.2, subdivision (a)(17). Applying the Supreme Court’s recent holding in People v. Strong (2022) 13 Cal.5th 698, we note that the verdict in Williams’s case was rendered years before the Supreme Court clarified the law of felony murder liability in People v. Banks (2015) 61 Cal.4th 788 (Banks) and People v. Clark (2016) 63 Cal.4th 522

All subsequent statutory references are to the Penal Code unless 1

otherwise noted.

1

(Clark). Accordingly, we reverse the denial and remand the matter with instructions for further proceedings. BACKGROUND On August 3, 1999, a jury convicted Williams of first degree murder (§ 187) with a special circumstance finding that the “murder was committed while [Williams] was engaged in, or was an accomplice in, the commission of, attempted commission of, or the immediate flight after committing, or attempting to commit” a felony under section 190.2, subdivision (a)(17). The jury also found true a sentencing enhancement under section 12022.5, subdivision (a), imposing additional punishment on Williams for his personal use of “a firearm in the commission of a felony or attempted felony.” For these offenses and others, Williams was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. On November 18, 2019, Williams filed a petition to have his murder conviction vacated and to be resentenced under former section 1170.95. After the trial court appointed counsel for Williams, the People filed an opposition to resentencing and Williams filed a reply. The trial court denied the petition, finding that Williams had failed to make a prima facie showing that he satisfied the requirements of former section 1170.95. According to the trial court, Williams was ineligible for resentencing because he fell short of the criterion set forth in former section 1170.95, subdivision (a)(1), requiring that “[t]he petitioner could not be convicted of first or second degree murder because of changes to Section . . . 189 made effective January 1, 2019.” The trial court rested that conclusion on two grounds. First, Williams’s jury found true a special circumstance under section 190.2, subdivision (a)(17); therefore, “as a matter of law,” Williams “could . . . still be convicted of felony murder under” section 189, subdivision (e), which ascribes felony