People v. Blakely

In People v. Blakely (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 1042, the defendant's current offense was possession of a firearm by a felon. The trial court found that his conviction alone did not make him ineligible under section 1170.126, but it concluded that he was ineligible because the facts of his offense showed that he had been armed and had used the firearm during his offense. (Blakely, at pp. 1050-1051.) The Court of Appeal agreed that the defendant's conviction alone did not disqualify him under section 1170.126, subdivision (e)(2). (Blakely, at p. 1051.) It pointed out that "armed" with a weapon meant that the weapon was "available for use, either offensively or defensively." (Id. at p. 1051.) Since a weapon "can be under a person's dominion and control without it being available for use," the court held that a conviction for possession alone is not enough to disqualify an inmate. (Id. at pp. 1052, 1054.) However, an inmate convicted of a weapon possession offense is disqualified if the trial court finds, based on the record of conviction, that the weapon was available for use during the commission of the possession offense. (Id. at p. 1054.)