SB 567’s changes to PC 1170(b) apply retroactively to sentences imposed pursuant to stipulated plea agreements in nonfinal cases. Defendant pled to a stipulated upper term sentence in 2020, which was suspended, and defendant was placed on probation. Defendant admitted a probation violation in 2024 and was sentenced to the upper term. The reviewing court reversed, applying People v. Mitchell (May 18, 2026, S277314), which held that SB 567 applies retroactively to all sentences imposed to stipulated plea agreements in nonfinal cases. The majority expressed concern that the holding was contrary to moral imperative as the delay in finality was due to defendant’s own malfeasance by absconding. [Editor’s Note: Justice Richardson concurred but did not share the majority’s moral concerns as the Legislature intended for more lenient sentences for the charged conduct.]

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here: https://www4.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B337951.PDF