Greg Hill & Associates Home
Award Recipient
Top 100 Trial Attorneys in the United States
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
Four New Post-Conviction Relief Laws Effective in 2019
Beginning on January 1, 2019, there are four new laws offering post-conviction relief to certain groups of qualified people. This is a brief overview of these four laws, some of which made news when passed.
The bill allows a judge to resentence a veteran or current service member convicted of a felony prior to 2015 if the service member was suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI) or other service-induced mental health issues if such health conditions are mitigating factors in the commission of the crime.
Statistics show that of the 2.6 million Americans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, up to 20% suffer or will develop service-related mental health problems.
2. Assembly Bill 1941. Expanded 17(b)(3) Relief for Felony Sentences Imposed on Wobblers. The new law authorizes a judge to reduce an offense otherwise punishable as a felony or misdemeanor to a misdemeanor upon successful completion of probation regardless of whether the court had previously imposed a sentence. This new law amends Penal Code § 17(b)(3).
This is significant because prior to 1941 being passed, if a judge granted a defendant probation with imposition of sentence suspended, but then defendant violated probation and the sentence was imposed, i.e. prison, the individual was ineligible, or unable, to later seek reduction of the felony to a misdemeanor.
Downey Courthouse3. Assembly Bill 2867. Clarification of Procedural Requirements for Vacating a Conviction under 1473.7 for Lack of Immigration Warnings. This law amends Penal Code § 1473.7 relating to vacating a conviction based on a person’s immigration status. AB 2867 clarifies the timing and procedural requirements of motions for post-conviction relief that are based on either a prejudicial error regarding defendant’s comprehension of immigration consequences stemming from his or her conviction or newly discovered evidence of actual innocence.
Perhaps the biggest change is that 2867 clarifies that a prior conviction, to be found legally invalid, need not require a showing of ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC). This is provided for at the new 1437.7(a)(1).
Further, the new law clarifies that a “notice to appear in immigration court” is not a jurisdictional requirement for petitioning for relief under the Section. (Penal Code section 1473.7(b)(2)(A)).
It is clear that by enacting the recent amendments to Penal Code section 1473.7, the California Legislature is intending to expand the ability for non-citizen defendants, who are now prejudiced by their convictions, to obtain post-conviction relief for immigration purposes.
We think this is long overdue, as we have had several clients with prior strikes fail in Romero motions to “strike a strike” and then face now only a doubled sentence for the prior strike, but also a five-year sentence enhancement for the prior serious felony.
This law is not retroactive, so if you or a loved one is serving time that includes a five-year prison sentenced enhanced under 1192.7 for a prior serious felony, one may not now seek resentencing in light of 1393. The only exception is under Penal Code § 1170(d)(1) if one was sentenced in the last 120 days, or 120 days prior to January 1, 2019 (back into early September 2018).
For more information about other recently-passed post-conviction relief laws, please click on the following articles:
Contact us. 
