Trial court improperly granted defendant’s PC 1170(d)(1)(A) petition because defendant’s 79-year-to-life sentence is not the functional equivalent of LWOP. The rule espoused by People v. Heard (2022) 83 Cal.App.5th 608, has been mooted by the Legislature’s grant of youthful offender parole hearings. (PC § 3051(b)(4).)

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here:  https://www4.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B341682.PDF