Filed 2/14/22 P. v. Padilla CA4/1

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COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

MELISSA PADILLA,

Defendant and Appellant.

 D078647

 (Super. Ct. No. SCD235440)

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, 

Kenneth K. So, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions. 

Ellen M. Matsumoto, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for 

Defendant and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant 

Attorney General, Melissa Mandel Acting Assistant Attorney General, 

Eric A. Swenson and Jennifer B. Truong, Deputy Attorneys General, for 

Plaintiff and Respondent.

This is an appeal from an order denying appellant’s petition for 

resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95. The petition was denied by 

the trial court because appellant had been convicted of voluntary 
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manslaughter as a lesser offense of the charge of murder. At the time of the 

ruling, the law appeared to support the trial court’s conclusion, but during 

the pendency of this appeal, the Legislature passed Senate Bill No. 775 

(Stats. 2021, ch. 551) (Senate Bill 775), which makes clear that persons who 

plead guilty to manslaughter can be eligible for resentencing. As a result of 

the legislative clarification, the Attorney General properly concedes the order 

must be reversed and the matter remanded to the trial court for an 

evidentiary hearing.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 2013, Melissa Padilla pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter as a 

lesser offense of murder (Pen. Code,1 § 192, subd. (a)). Padilla also pleaded 

guilty to one count of robbery (§ 211); admitted a gang allegation (§ 186.22, 

subd. (b)(1)); and admitted she was a principal where another principal 

personally used a firearm during the robbery (§ 12022.53, subds. (b) & (e)(1)). 

Padilla was sentenced to a stipulated term of 25 years and four months in 

prison. 

In 2021, Padilla filed a petition for resentencing under section 1170.95. 

The court appointed counsel, received briefing, and denied the petition by 

written order. The court concluded Padilla’s conviction for voluntary 

manslaughter was not eligible for resentencing under section 1170.95. 

Padilla filed a timely notice of appeal. 

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code.
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DISCUSSION2

As we have noted, at the time of the trial court’s ruling on Padilla’s 

petition, the appellate courts were virtually unanimous that pleas to 

voluntary manslaughter were not eligible for relief under section 1170.95. 

(People v. Turner (2020) 45 Cal.App.5th 428, 438; People v. Paige (2020) 51 

Cal.App.5th 194, 201-204.)

In the interim, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 775, effective 

January 1, 2022. That legislation made clear that persons who pleaded 

guilty to voluntary manslaughter as lesser offenses of murder could be 

eligible for resentencing.

Padilla contends and the Attorney General agrees that the trial court’s 

denial of the resentencing petition must be reversed. The parties further 

agree that a prima facie showing has been made and that the case must be 

remanded with directions to issue an order to show cause (OSC) and to hold 

an evidentiary hearing. Our review of the record persuades us the parties 

are correct in their analysis of this appeal. We will accept the Attorney 

General’s concession.

DISPOSITION

The order denying Padilla’s petition for resentencing under 

section 1170.95 is reversed. The case is remanded to the Superior Court with 

2 Given the Attorney General’s concession, we find it unnecessary to 

include a statement of facts based on the grand jury transcript.
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directions to issue an OSC and conduct an evidentiary hearing consistent 

with statute.

HUFFMAN, J.

WE CONCUR:

McCONNELL, P. J.

DO, J.