P. v. Gomez CA2/3
Defendant Ursula Gomez is serving a 21-year prison term after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. She petitioned for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95. (Unidentified section references are to the Penal Code.) Section 1170.95 allows persons convicted of felony murder, or murder under a natural and probable consequences theory, to petition for resentencing. The trial court summarily denied defendant’s petition without appointing counsel for defendant.
We affirm the trial court’s order. Courts of Appeal have thus far uniformly held only defendants convicted of murder are eligible for relief under the plain language of section 1170.95. We agree with those decisions. We also agree with decisions holding the right to counsel does not attach immediately upon the filing of a resentencing petition.
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