Trial courts don’t inherently have the jurisdiction to consider recent changes in law when resentencing defendants, the Court of Appeal ruled July 25.
In the appeal of a 2017 murder case, the Court of Appeal found that defendant Oscar Lopez was entitled to enhancements reforms passed during his appeal, but that the San Bernardino Superior Judge Bridgid McCann did not have the authority to consider them when directed to resentence him in 2022.
The shooting and the conviction
According to the appellate ruling, Lopez, with an accomplice, pulled up next to two men in another car. He asked, “Where you guys from?” then shot them. One of the victims
