The People, Plaintiff and Respondent v. Luis Angel Gutierrez, Defendant and Appellant ; the People, — Liu, J…

Summary

Justice Liu concurs in the court's conclusion that sentencing law gives a court discretion to choose between life without parole and 25 years to life for a 16- or 17-year-old convicted of special-circumstance murder, without a presumption favoring life without parole, and requires consideration of the relevant juvenile-sentencing factors. She emphasizes that discretion at the transfer stage has limited utility because the information available and sentencing choices differ from those at posttrial sentencing. She also stresses that the constitutional principle concerning juveniles applies broadly, not only to 14-year-olds.