California v. Clements
Annotate this CaseA jury convicted appellant Jody Ann Clements of second degree murder in 1990 after the trial judge instructed them on both natural and probable consequences and implied malice theories of murder. In 2018, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) which, among other things, amended the definition of murder to eliminate the natural and probable consequences doctrine. The Legislature also added a new provision which established a procedure for vacating murder convictions predating the amendment if they could not be sustained under the amended definition of murder. Clements filed a petition arguing she was convicted of second degree murder under a natural and probable consequences theory and could not be convicted under the current law. After a hearing, at which the parties agreed to limit the evidence to the record of conviction, the trial judge looked to the Court of Appeals' decision in Clements’ original appeal and other portions of the record of conviction and made two alternative determinations that: (1) substantial evidence supported the determination that Clements could have been convicted of second degree murder under an implied malice theory; and (2) Clements in fact committed implied malice second degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial judge therefore denied her petition. Clements argued the trial judge erred by considering the Court of Appeal's opinion in her original appeal, by misconstruing the nature of the eligibility determination it was required to make under the new statute, and by denying her petition in the absence of substantial evidence supporting a finding of implied malice. The Court of Appeal held an appellate opinion was part of the record of conviction and could be relied on in deciding a section 1170.95 petition on the merits, so the trial judge did not err in doing so in this case. The Court also held the trial judge sits as a fact finder at a hearing under section 1170.95(d), and that substantial evidence supported the trial judge’s finding beyond a reasonable doubt that Clements committed implied malice second degree murder. The Court again affirmed the trial court's order denying Clements' petition.
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