People v. Wright CA3

Filed 12/23/22 P. v. Wright CA3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

THE PEOPLE, C091633

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 93F06757)

v. OPINION ON TRANSFER

CHEVAL SHANNON WRIGHT,

Defendant and Appellant.

In 2001, petitioner Cheval Shannon Wright was found guilty of first degree murder, attempted second degree robbery, and second degree robbery.1 The jury found true that a principal was armed with a firearm during the commission of all of the offenses and the special circumstance that the murder was committed during the commission or attempted commission of a robbery under Penal Code section 190.2,

1We granted petitioner’s request to incorporate by reference the appellate record in People v. Wright (Dec. 11, 2002, C039121) [nonpub. opn.].

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subdivision (a)(17)(A).2 The jury found not true that petitioner personally used a firearm in the commission of the offenses. Petitioner appeals from a postjudgment order denying his petition for resentencing of his murder conviction under former section 1170.95.3 He argues the trial court erred by determining he was ineligible for resentencing under this statute based on the jury’s felony-murder special circumstance finding. In a September 28, 2021 unpublished opinion, this court disagreed and affirmed the order denying the petition. The Supreme Court granted review and ultimately transferred the matter back to this court, with directions to vacate our decision and reconsider the cause in light of People v. Strong (2022) 13 Cal.5th 698 (Strong). Accordingly, we vacated our September 28, 2021 opinion. Consistent with Strong, we will reverse the order denying the petition and remand the matter to the trial court for further proceedings. I. BACKGROUND Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.), which became effective January 1, 2019, was enacted “to ensure that murder liability is not imposed on a person who is not the actual killer, did not act with the intent to kill, or was not a major participant in the underlying felony who acted with reckless indifference to human life.” (Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 1, subd. (f).) The bill amended the definition of malice in section 188 and revised the definition of the degrees of murder to address felony-murder liability in section 189. (Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, §§ 2-3; see People v. Gutierrez-Salazar (2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 411, 417.)