People v. Lara

Summary

The California Court of Appeal reverses an order granting Isaac Daniel Lara’s petition to recall and resentence his juvenile-offender sentence under Penal Code section 1170, subdivision (d)(1)(A). The court holds that Lara, who received a sentence of 79 years to life with the possibility of parole, did not qualify for statutory relief applicable to offenders sentenced to life without parole. The court further concludes that a subsequent youth offender parole hearing under Penal Code section 3051 mooted the functional-equivalent-of-LWOP rationale recognized in People v. Heard.

Holdings

1. Section 1170, subdivision (d)(1)(A), provides relief to juvenile offenders sentenced to life without the possibility of parole; Lara was sentenced to 79 years to life with the possibility of parole and therefore did not qualify under the statute.
2. The appeal was moot because Lara had received a youth offender parole hearing under Penal Code section 3051 and therefore was not presently serving the functional equivalent of a life-without-parole sentence.
3. The trial court's orders were erroneous and were reversed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Penal Code section 1170, subdivision (d)(1)(A), authorizes recall and resentencing for a juvenile offender sentenced to 79 years to life with the possibility of parole rather than life without parole.
2. Whether Lara's receipt of a youth offender parole hearing under Penal Code section 3051 mooted the appeal and the claim that his sentence was the functional equivalent of life without parole.
3. Whether the trial court erred by recalling Lara's sentence, conditionally reversing his conviction and sentence, and certifying the matter to juvenile court.

Disposition

reversed