California Supreme Court Grants Review in another SB 1437 Case

The court granted review in People v. Duke, and it limited the issue to: “Can the People meet their burden of establishing a petitioner’s ineligibility for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95, subdivision (d)(3) by presenting substantial evidence of the petitioner’s liability for murder under Penal Code sections 188 and 189 as amended by Senate Bill No. 1437 (Stats. 2018, ch. 1015), or must the People prove every element of liability for murder under the amended statutes beyond a reasonable doubt?” SB 1437 cases are regulars on the court’s docket, although not those regarding the legislation’s constitutionality; just last month the court issued an opinion in an SB 1437 case. In Duke, the Second District, Division One, Court of Appeal, in a published opinion, affirmed the denial of a resentencing petition, concluding that, “[u]nder any standard of review,” the superior court correctly found “ ‘beyond a reasonable doubt that there was sufficient evidence presented to show’ that Duke acted with the intent to kill.”