P. v. Ibarra CA2/7
Jovan Ibarra, convicted in 2009 following a jury trial of first degree murder and three counts of attempted willful, deliberate and premeditated murder, with true findings as to firearm-use and criminal street gang enhancements, appeals the superior court’s summary denial of his petition for resentencing pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.95 without first appointing counsel and inviting briefing. Although the court erred by denying the petition without appointing counsel (People v. Lewis (2021) 11 Cal.5th 952, 963 (Lewis) [“petitioners who file a complying petition requesting counsel are to receive counsel upon the filing of a compliant petition”]), the error was harmless because Ibarra’s jury was not instructed on either the felony-murder rule or the natural and probable consequences doctrine and the jury’s findings necessarily mean it found he had acted with express malice when committing the crimes, making Ibarra ineligible for resentencing under section 1170.95 as a matt
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