San Diego County District Attorney

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office Conviction and Sentence Review Unit (CASRU) is committed to ensuring the integrity of convictions obtained by its prosecutors and to recommending re-sentencing when in the interest of justice. The Conviction Review process is for inmates who claim to be wrongly convicted and innocent. The Sentence Review process is for inmates who do not dispute their conviction, but who believe their initial sentence was too harsh or that they otherwise deserve to be resentenced. CASRU prosecutors follow the highest standard of professional integrity and work collaboratively with their justice partners and innocence advocates to ensure justice is achieved.

A. CONVICTION REVIEW CRITERIA

Post-conviction claims of innocence are reviewed when credible and verifiable evidence of innocence exists and/or new technologies exist to test or retest available evidence. CASRU accepts all conviction review applications capable of investigation and review, which may undermine confidence in the conviction, if its allegations are substantiated. We review all felony convictions which were obtained by a jury trial, a bench trial (judge), or plea bargain. We consider relevant issues uncovered during an investigation, even issues not raised during the initial prosecution or during a subsequent appellate review.

If, after consideration of the evidence originally known at the time of conviction and all additional information learned during the conviction review process, the District Attorney loses confidence in the integrity of a conviction, the District Attorney will take whatever action is reasonably necessary to achieve justice, including, but not limited to, exoneration.

Application Requirements

Individuals making a claim of innocence must meet the following criteria:

1. The conviction must have occurred in San Diego County Superior Court;
2. The applicant must be in custody, serving time on the case which is the subject of review;
3. The conviction may be for any felony;
4. The application must be based on credible and verifiable evidence of innocence not known or available at the time of conviction; and
5. The applicant must agree to fully cooperate with the District Attorney's Office, which includes signing waivers and providing disclosure of all information relevant to the case.

Application Information

Applicants or their representative must complete a Conviction Review Application to initiate a conviction review request. Forms are provided here:

• Conviction Review Application Form

• Fillable Conviction Review Application Form
  
  *The fillable form may require you to get the latest version of Adobe Reader from https://get.adobe.com/reader/ )

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B. SENTENCE REVIEW CRITERIA

California Penal Code section 1172.1 gives District Attorneys the authority to recommend that a court recall and resentence criminal defendants. The law recognizes an inmate may have served sufficient time and may be adequately rehabilitated and, therefore, ready for a safe and law-abiding reentry.

The District Attorney's Office prioritizes victims' rights and community safety and will consider these critical areas in every potential resentencing. In appropriate cases, the District Attorney will recommend a recall and resentencing in the interests of justice.

Application Requirements:

1. The conviction must have occurred in San Diego County Superior Court;
2. The applicant must be in custody, serving time on the case at issue;
3. The conviction must be for a felony;
4. The Applicant was not convicted of a special circumstance (Penal Code § 190.2) and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Special circumstances cannot be dismissed by law.

In identifying, investigating, and recommending individuals for recall and resentencing, the District Attorney's Office will consider postconviction factors, including, but not limited to, the disciplinary record and record of rehabilitation of the defendant while incarcerated, evidence that reflects whether age, time served, and diminished physical condition, if any, have reduced the defendant's risk for future violence, and evidence that reflects that circumstances have changed since the original sentencing so that continued incarceration is no longer in the interest of justice.

The District Attorney's Office will consider if the defendant has experienced psychological, physical, or childhood trauma, including, but not limited to, abuse, neglect, exploitation, or sexual violence, if the defendant was a victim of intimate partner violence or human trafficking prior to or at the time of the commission of the offense, or if the defendant is a youth or was a youth as defined under subdivision (b) of Section 1016.7 at the time of the commission of the offense, and whether those circumstances were a contributing factor in the commission of the offense.

Where the District Attorney's Office determines, based on a totality of the circumstances, that an inmate has served sufficient time in custody, is adequately rehabilitated and, therefore, ready for a safe and law-abiding reentry, a recommendation will be made to the court for recall and resentencing. If the court agrees, it will resentence an inmate to a term less than and no greater than the initial sentence.

If an Applicant meets the above criteria, they must fill out the application and the three waiver forms below.

Application Information

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office welcomes applications for sentencing review and is committed to reviewing these requests thoroughly and fairly Because the decision to recommend resentencing is discretionary, applicants are encouraged to provide as much accurate information as possible.

If an applicant for sentencing review claims their conviction was deficient due to new evidence of actual innocence or wrongful conviction, the applicant must instead file a Conviction Review application.

Additional information and instructions are contained within the questionnaire.

1. QUESTIONNAIRE
2. Form CDCR 7385 (medical records)
3. Form CDCR 7385 (psychiatric notes)
4. Central File Authorization Waiver

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