People v. Dang CA6, H052934

Thanh Toan Dang was convicted in 2012 by a jury of attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm in connection with a restaurant shooting, where the victim identified Dang as the shooter.
The jury found enhancement allegations true, including that Dang personally used and discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury.
Dang's original sentence was reversed and remanded for resentencing due to sentencing errors; a new sentence was imposed and later affirmed on appeal.
Dang filed two petitions for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6 (originally 1170.95), both denied; he argued his conviction should be vacated based on changes in California's murder law under Senate Bill 1437 and 775.
Both petitions were denied at the prima facie stage because Dang was convicted as the actual shooter with intent to kill, and not under any theory affected by the statutory changes, such as the natural and probable consequences doctrine.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Dang's Argument	Held
Eligibility for Resentencing under §1172.6	Dang not eligible; conviction based on intent to kill, not old doctrines.	He could not now be convicted due to insufficiency of evidence about shooter identity.	Denied: §1172.6 only gives relief to those convicted under now-invalid doctrines, not to retry facts.
Prima Facie Showing Required	No prima facie case since jury found he intended to kill as shooter.	The petition should not be denied without evidentiary hearing.	Proper to deny at prima facie; record shows he was convicted as shooter with required intent.
Re-Litigation of Facts at Resentencing	Section 1172.6 is not for relitigating sufficiency of evidence from trial.	Reiterated his trial defense that he wasn't the shooter.	Not allowed: Resentencing is for statutory, not factual, corrections.
Multiple Petitions under §1172.6	Denied for lack of change in facts or law; can't file repeat petitions.	Claimed his innocence and cited trial evidence again.	Court did not need to decide, as his claim failed on substantive grounds.

People v. Delgadillo, 14 Cal.5th 216 (Cal. 2022) (set procedure for appointed counsel and independent review when no issues are raised in appeals from denials of resentencing petitions)
People v. Gentile, 10 Cal.5th 830 (Cal. 2020) (explains impact of Senate Bill 1437 and changes to California's murder law)
People v. Lewis, 11 Cal.5th 952 (Cal. 2021) (discusses trial court's role at the prima facie stage of §1172.6 petitions)
People v. Strong, 13 Cal.5th 698 (Cal. 2022) (clarifies eligibility criteria and procedures for relief under new murder liability statutes)
People v. Wilson, 14 Cal.5th 839 (Cal. 2023) (clarifies scope of relief under section 1172.6 post-amendment)