California Appellate and Supreme Court Decisions Referencing Penal Code 745 (Published in 2023)

People v. Hollie (2023)

Citation: People v. Hollie (2023) 97 Cal.App.5th 58 (Docket: B321325)

This case from the Second Appellate District primarily concerned a petition for factual innocence. The defendant, Rodney Deon Hollie, had previously been convicted of murder, but that conviction was vacated under a resentencing statute (Penal Code § 1172.6). He subsequently filed a petition seeking a finding of “factual innocence.”

The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s denial of the factual innocence petition, holding that a conviction being vacated under the resentencing statute does not, by itself, establish that the defendant is factually innocent of the crime.

The opinion references the California Racial Justice Act (Penal Code section 745, subdivision (a)) because the defendant also attempted to raise a claim under it. The court noted in its decision that the RJA issue was “not properly before” the court in the context of the appeal from the factual innocence petition.

People v. Simmons (2023)

Citation: People v. Simmons (2023) 96 Cal.App.5th 323 (Docket: B309921)

This case from the Second Appellate District (originating in Los Angeles County) is a significant published decision interpreting the Racial Justice Act (Penal Code § 745). The case involved a claim of RJA violations, and the Court of Appeal reversed the judgment.

The decision is frequently cited in other RJA-related cases for its analysis of the RJA’s intent and its “per se reversal” rule. This rule remedies a proven RJA violation by reversing the conviction or sentence without requiring the defendant to prove that the bias affected the outcome of the case (i.e., constituted a “miscarriage of justice”). The California Supreme Court denied review on January 10, 2024, making the appellate court’s published decision final.