California AB 518: Penal Code 654 Resentencing and Firearm Enhancements

California’s AB 518 gives judges discretion to pick a shorter sentence when a single criminal act violates more than one law, and that discretion opened a door to resentencing for some people already serving time. Whether you can walk through that door depends almost entirely on one thing: whether your conviction is final. If your case is still on direct appeal, the new law applies to you automatically and your appellate lawyer can ask for a remand. If your judgment is final, you cannot file a petition yourself — relief has to be initiated by a judge, a prosecutor, or a corrections official.

What AB 518 Changed

Before January 1, 2022, Penal Code 654 forced a judge sentencing someone whose single act violated multiple statutes to impose the longest available term. The judge had no choice. AB 518 rewrote that rule. The statute now says the act “may be punished under either of such provisions, but in no case shall the act or omission be punished under more than one provision.”¹ The word “either” is what changed everything. The judge still has to impose sentence on each count, but can now choose which count to execute and which to stay, instead of being locked into the one carrying the longest term.²

One restriction carried over. If any of the applicable provisions prohibits probation, the defendant still cannot receive it, even if the judge picks the lesser offense to execute.¹

Why Firearm Enhancements Are the Biggest Target

The practical stakes of AB 518 are highest in firearm cases, where the enhancement often dwarfs the base sentence. Penal Code 12022.5 adds a consecutive 3, 4, or 10 years for personally using a firearm in a felony.³ Penal Code 12022.53 goes further, imposing 10 years for using a firearm, 20 for discharging one, or 25 years to life when the discharge causes great bodily injury or death during specified serious felonies.⁴

When the underlying felony and the enhancement punish the same act, a judge now has the power to stay the enhancement and execute only the base term. A separate authority under section 12022.53(h) also lets the court strike a firearm enhancement in the interest of justice at any resentencing.⁴ Together these two tools can transform a 25-to-life sentence into a few years.

If Your Case Is Still on Appeal

This is the straightforward path. Under In re Estrada, when the legislature reduces a punishment, the lighter rule applies to every case not yet final.⁵ The Court of Appeal confirmed in People v. Mani that AB 518 is exactly that kind of ameliorative change, and remanded the case so the trial court could exercise its new discretion.²

If your direct appeal is still pending, your appellate attorney should raise AB 518. The appellate court remands the case, and the trial court reconsiders the sentence under the amended statute. You do not need any other mechanism.

If Your Conviction Is Already Final

AB 518 does not, by itself, create a petition you can file. For final cases, the only route is Penal Code 1172.1, California’s general recall and resentencing statute. If a sentence is recalled under that section, the court must apply AB 518’s new discretion during the resentencing.⁶

Here is the part that trips people up. Section 1172.1 says in plain terms that a defendant is not entitled to petition for this relief, and the court has no obligation to respond to any request sent by a defendant.⁶ Letters to the sentencing judge asking for AB 518 relief will not open a case. The process has to be started by someone else.

Who Can Start a Recall

The sentencing court, on its own motion, within 120 days of commitment or at any time when sentencing law has changed.
The Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or the Board of Parole Hearings, for someone in state prison.
The county correctional administrator, for someone in county jail.
The district attorney who handled the original case, or the Attorney General.

Referrals do not accept submissions from incarcerated people or outside advocates directly. CDCR has stated that referrals have to come through institutional channels, starting with the warden at the facility where the person is housed.⁷ If you believe you qualify, the practical first move is to work with your correctional counselor to bring your case to the warden’s attention. Family members and attorneys can also contact the district attorney’s office that prosecuted the case to ask about a recall recommendation.

Once a recommendation does arrive from one of the authorized sources, the court must set a status conference within 30 days and appoint counsel. There is then a presumption in favor of recall and resentencing, which the court can override only by finding that the defendant currently poses an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety.⁶

What Happens at the Resentencing Hearing

A resentencing hearing is not a replay of the original sentencing. The court is required to look at what has happened since, including your disciplinary record, participation in rehabilitation, whether age and time served have reduced your risk, and any other evidence of changed circumstances.⁶ The judge can modify the sentence downward, and with your agreement can even vacate the conviction and impose judgment on a lesser included offense.

Two things to understand clearly. First, the new sentence can never be greater than the original one.⁶ Resentencing cannot make your situation worse. Second, the judge is never required to reduce it. AB 518 gives discretion, not a guaranteed cut. A court can hold the hearing, consider everything, and reimpose the same term.

Victim Notice and the Right to Be Heard

California’s Marsy’s Law, in Article I, Section 28 of the state constitution, gives crime victims the right to reasonable notice of public court proceedings where the defendant and prosecutor are entitled to be present, including post-conviction proceedings, and the right to be heard at any sentencing or post-conviction release decision.⁸ A victim notified of the original sentencing is entitled to notice of a resentencing under AB 518 or section 1172.1, and can attend and address the court. Those statements do not decide the outcome, but they become part of the record the judge weighs.

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 654
2
FindLaw. People v. Mani (2022)
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 12022.5
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 12022.53
5
Justia Law. In re Estrada (1965)
6
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1172.1
7
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Recall and Resentencing Referral
8
Justia Law. California Constitution Article I – Section 28