P. v. Zepeda CA4/3
Jose Felix Zepeda appeals from the trial court’s postjudgment order denying his Penal Code section 1170.95 petition. He argues the court erred by denying his section 1170.95 petition in his absence without issuing an order to show cause and conducting an evidentiary hearing. The Attorney General asserts the court properly denied the petition because the jury found true a felony-murder special circumstance and Zepeda was therefore ineligible for section 1170.95 relief as a matter of law. This is not the first time we have had to decide whether a jury’s true finding on a felony-murder special circumstance prior to the Supreme Court’s decisions in People v. Banks (2015) 61 Cal.4th 788 (Banks) and People v. Clark (2016) 63 Cal.4th 522 (Clark) rendered a defendant ineligible for relief under section 1170.95 as a matter of law. We concluded it did not in People v. Gonzalez (2021) 65 Cal.App.5th 420 (Gonzalez), review granted August 18, 2021, S269792.
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