People v. Leon CA4/1

California Court of Appeal May 21, 2024 No. D081873Unpublished

AI Brief

AI-generated · verify before citing

Holding. The court held that the defendant was ineligible for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6 as a matter of law because the jury instructions and verdict established he was convicted of murder with malice aforethought, rendering any potential error by the trial court in its prima facie review harmless.

Issues

Whether the trial court erred in denying a petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6 at the prima facie stage.
Whether the record of conviction conclusively establishes the defendant's ineligibility for relief as a matter of law.

Disposition. Affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“the RJN shows as a matter of law that Leon is not entitled to relief under section 1172.6.”

“when the jury convicted Leon of first degree murder it necessarily found that he “kill[ed] a human being with malice aforethought” (ibid.), rendering him statutorily ineligible for relief under section 1172.6”

Filed 5/21/24 P. v. Leon CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D081873

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCD102189)

JOSE JUAN LEON,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Frederick Maguire, Judge. Affirmed. Patricia L. Brisbois, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Collette C. Cavalier, Lynne G. McGinnis, and Ksenia Gracheva, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

MEMORANDUM OPINION1 Petitioner Jose Juan Leon appeals from the March 16, 2023 order denying (at the prima facie stage) his petition for resentencing (Petition)

under Penal Code2 section 1170.95, renumbered and now section 1172.6. He claims the trial court engaged in inappropriate factfinding and failed to specify the portion of the record of conviction on which it relied; and instead should have issued an order to show cause and set the matter for an evidentiary hearing. In an information filed in March 1994, the district attorney charged Leon and codefendant Rodney Alexander Pimentel with the murder of Skip Ruda. It further alleged that in committing the murder, Leon alone personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon (a knife). The jury convicted Leon of first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and found the personal use of a weapon enhancement true (§ 12022, subd. (b)). However, the jury was unable to reach a verdict as to Pimentel. The court sentenced Leon to 25 years to life in prison on the murder count, plus one year for the weapon enhancement. We affirmed the judgment in 1997. (See People v. Leon (Mar. 24, 1997, D023772) [nonpub. opin.].) Leon filed his Petition in 2020. The trial court summarily denied it in August 2021. In December 2022 we reversed the order and remanded the matter with instructions that it appoint counsel for Leon and conduct further proceedings. (People v. Leon (Oct. 12, 2022, D079522) [nonpub. opin.].) On remand, the court ruled Leon was statutorily ineligible for relief under

People v. Leon CA4/1

AI Brief

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D081873

JOSE JUAN LEON,

More from California Court of Appeal

Related research

BUCHANAN, J.

AI Brief