People v. Machado (Cal. Ct. App., Oct. 31, 2022, No. B311023) 2022 WL 16548693 Summary: Machado, serving sentence for murder petitioned under Penal Code section 1172.6 which limited the application of felony-murder doctrine. Machado and the prosecution stipulated that he was eligible to have the conviction vacated and to be…
In re Foster (Cal. Ct. App., Nov. 1, 2022, No. A160713) 2022 WL 16570551, at *1 Summary: Foster, a state prison inmate, was sentenced in 1998 to an indeterminate term of 23 years to life. After the Board of Parole Hearings (the Board) found him suitable for parole in 2019,…
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. CYNTHIA M. VARGAS, Defendant and Appellant. (Cal. Ct. App., Oct. 28, 2022, No. B313853) 2022 WL 15635424, at *2–3 Summary: Vargas was convicted of first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) with use of a firearm (§ 12022.53, subds. (d), (e)(1)) and the jury…
People v. Duran (Cal. Ct. App., Oct. 27, 2022, No. B317640) 2022 WL 15121275, at *1 Summary: Duran was convicted of second degree murder in 1984 for a gang-related stabbing petitioned for relief under Penal Code section 1172.6 (former section 1170.95). During the evidentiary hearing, the prosecution introduced statements that…
People v. Vizcarra (Cal. Ct. App., Oct. 19, 2022, No. D078869) 2022 WL 10869162, at *1 Summary:Vizcarra was convicted of the second degree murder he committed with three co-defendants. The district attorney charged Vizcarra with murder and arson of an inhabited structure and argued alternative theories of murder liability: (1)…
People v. Hardin (Cal. Ct. App., Oct. 18, 2022, No. B315434) 2022 WL 10272623, at *1 Youth Offender Parol Hearings and Franklin Hearings An individual convicted of a crime with a sentence of life without the possibility of parole before he was 18 years old is eligible for release on…
People v. Nguyen (2022) 82 Cal.App.5th 888 [298 Cal.Rptr.3d 877, 879–885, 82 Cal.App.5th 888] Summary: Under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (Detainer Agreement, Pen. Code, § 1389), a person serving a sentence of imprisonment in one participating state who has a detainer for charges pending in another participating state may…
People v. Lastra (Cal. Ct. App., Aug. 31, 2022, No. 2D CRIM. B309895) 2022 WL 4493826, at *1, as modified on denial of reh’g (Sept. 28, 2022) Summary: College students faced criminal charges for marching through the City of San Luis Obispo following the murder of George Floyd, Jr. in…
People v. Johnson (Cal. Ct. App., Oct. 4, 2022, No. C094491) 2022 WL 4905411, at *1–2 Summary: The trial court has broad discretion to impose a lesser uncharged firearm enhancement provided for by Penal Code section 12022.5, subdivision (a), when it exercises its discretion to strike a Penal Code section…
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. NOLAN TAKAO NONAKA, Defendant and Respondent. (Cal. Ct. App., Sept. 30, 2022, No. 2D CRIM. B313848) 2022 WL 4591497, at *1–3 Summary: The People appeal the denial of the motion for victim restitution, including attorney fees and costs, after Nonaka was convicted by plea…