Defunct Prior-Prison Enhancement Triggers Resentencing Even if Penalty Was Stricken

The California Supreme Court held Thursday that a defendant is entitled to a full resentencing hearing, at which courts are directed to apply any ameliorative changes in the law to reduce a petitioner’s punishment absent a finding that such a sentence would endanger public safety, where his judgment included a now-defunct prior-prison enhancement, even if the penalty associated with the allegation was stricken.