Sandoval v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County
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In 2009, Sandoval was convicted of second-degree murder (Pen. Code 187) with a finding that Sandoval committed the offense for the benefit of a criminal street gang and, as a principal, personally used a firearm. He was sentenced to 40 years to life. He unsuccessfully appealed and sought habeas relief. In 2019, he filed a petition for resentencing under Penal Code 1172.6. The trial court denied the petition. On remand, the case was assigned to the same judge who had previously denied Sandoval’s petition.
Sandoval filed an unsuccessful peremptory challenge seeking to disqualify the judge under Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6(a)(2), which authorizes a motion to disqualify “following reversal on appeal of a trial court’s decision ... if the trial judge in the prior proceeding is assigned to conduct a new trial on the matter.” In a petition for mandamus relief, Sandoval argued that the remand for reconsideration of the resentencing petition constituted a “new trial.” The court of appeal rejected that argument. Although the remand did not foreclose the introduction of new evidence it contemplated that the trial court could consider evidence that had already been admitted at the Penal Code section 1172.6 evidentiary hearing.
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