People v. Neal CA2/1

Filed 9/1/22 P. v. Neal CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

THE PEOPLE, B314245

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA267060) v.

JULIUS LAMAR NEAL,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Eleanor J. Hunter, Judge. Appeal dismissed. ____________________________

Brian C. McComas, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

____________________________

In 2008, a jury convicted defendant and appellant Julius Lamar Neal of two counts of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187),1 four counts of willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder (§§ 187, 664, subd. (a)), and one count of assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd. (a)(2)). The jury also found that Neal personally used a firearm causing great bodily injury or death (§ 12022.53, subd. (d)) as to the murder counts and two of the attempted murder counts. As to the two remaining attempted murder counts, the jury found that Neal personally discharged a firearm. (§ 12022.53, subd. (c).) In addition, the jury found true two multiple-murder special circumstance allegations. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3).) The trial court sentenced Neal to two consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 128 years to life, plus 40 years. We affirmed the convictions on appeal. (People v. Neal (Apr. 23, 2009, B208022) [nonpub. opn.].) In 2018, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017−2018 Reg. Sess.), which abolished the natural and probable consequences doctrine in cases of murder, and limited the application of the felony murder doctrine. (See People v. Gentile (2020) 10 Cal.5th 830, 842–843.) The legislation also enacted section 1170.95, now renumbered section 1172.6, which established a procedure for vacating murder convictions for defendants who could no longer be convicted of murder because of the changes in the law and resentencing those who were so convicted. (Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 4, pp. 6675–6677.) In 2021, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill No. 775 (2021−2022 Reg. Sess.) (Stats. 2021, ch. 551), which, among other changes, extended the application of then section 1170.95 to defendants convicted of attempted murder under the natural and probable consequences doctrine.