California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Thompson, C090225 (Cal. App. 2020):
The trial court here reviewed the record of conviction and concluded defendant did not make a prima facie showing of eligibility because he was found to be the actual killer for two murders and that the jury found true special circumstances for the third murder; the court did this all without any briefing from defense counsel. Appellate courts are divided on whether trial courts may review the record of conviction and deny a section 1170.95 petition before appointing counsel. (Compare People v. Lewis (2020) 43 Cal.App.5th 1128, 1138-1140 [trial courts may review record of conviction and need not
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