P. v. Lynch CA2/7
Over three decades ago, when David Rory Lynch was a minor, he was convicted of murder. When he was resentenced under Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U.S. 460 (Miller), the trial court included two counts he had not been convicted of. But he never appealed. Years later, he moved for a juvenile transfer hearing under Proposition 57, the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016 (Cal. Const., art. I, § 32). But he did not raise the issue of his unauthorized sentence, and the trial court denied his motion for lack of jurisdiction.
This case asks the question: If an unauthorized sentence is never challenged, is the judgment never final for purposes of relief under Proposition 57?
We hold the answer is: No. A judgment is final once the time for direct appellate review has elapsed irrespective of the sentence because a final judgment may include an unauthorized sentence until it is corrected.
We affirm.
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