People v. Villegas CA2/2, B336596

Juan Villegas was convicted by a jury in 2013 for attempted murder, with findings of firearm use causing great bodily injury and that the crime benefited a criminal street gang.
Villegas was sentenced to 30 years to life, along with two co-defendants.
In August 2021, Villegas petitioned for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6 (formerly § 1170.95), arguing for relief following changes in the law regarding accomplice liability for murder.
The trial court appointed counsel, ordered an evidentiary hearing, and ultimately denied the resentencing petition, finding Villegas could still be convicted either as the actual shooter or as a direct aider and abettor.
Villegas appealed the denial; his counsel filed a brief raising no issues per People v. Delgadillo, and Villegas submitted a supplemental brief that did not address any error in the denial.
The Court of Appeal limited its review to the arguments raised in Villegas’s supplemental brief, found none addressing the relevant issue, and affirmed the trial court's order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the denial of section 1172.6 petition was error	No error; conviction stands under current law	Did not raise any arguments on denial	Affirmed; no error shown
Whether the appellate court must conduct independent review	No duty to independently review	Requested independent review	No; only required to review defendant's arguments

People v. Delgadillo, 14 Cal.5th 216 (Cal. 2022) (sets procedure for appellate review of no-issue briefs under § 1172.6)
People v. Gonzalez, 12 Cal.5th 367 (Cal. 2021) (appellant must affirmatively demonstrate error on appeal)