The Court of Appeal holds as a matter of first impression that PC 1170(d)(1), which authorizes resentencing for juvenile offenders sentenced to LWOP, is inapplicable to juvenile offenders sentenced to the functional equivalent of LWOP. However, the court further holds that denying juvenile offenders serving the functional equivalent of LWOP the opportunity to petition for resentencing violates equal protection because they are similarly situated to eligible juvenile offenders seeking resentencing and because the differential treatment fails rational basis scrutiny.
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