People v. Alaybue
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In 2006, Alaybue pleaded no contest to two counts of second-degree murder (Pen. Code, 187) and two counts of attempted murder (sections 187, 664(a)) and admitted a gang allegation for each count. Alaybue was sentenced to concurrent indeterminate terms of 15 years to life on the second-degree murder convictions, consecutive to concurrent five-year determinate terms on the attempted murder convictions. In 2019, Alaybue petitioned to vacate his murder and attempted murder convictions under newly-enacted Senate Bill 1437. The trial court denied the petition, finding Senate Bill 1437 was unconstitutional because it impermissibly amended Proposition 7 (1978, increasing the penalty for first-degree murder) and Proposition 115 (1990, defining degrees of murder and addressing felony-murder liability). The court also found that Senate Bill 1437 did not apply to the crime of attempted murder.
The court of appeal reversed. Senate Bill 1437 is constitutional, as it does not amend Propositions 7 and 115 and it does not violate the separation of powers doctrine by interfering with the executive’s prosecutorial functions and the finality of judgment. However, Senate Bill 1437 does not apply to the offense of attempted murder. On remand, the court may reconsider Alaybue’s petition, but only as to the murder convictions.
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