People v. Lewis

Summary

The court held that a petitioner who files a facially sufficient petition under Penal Code section 1170.95 and requests counsel is entitled to appointed counsel before the parties brief the prima facie issue. The superior court may consider the record of conviction at that stage, but only in a limited inquiry that accepts factual allegations as true and does not involve weighing evidence. The denial of counsel was state-law error subject to prejudice review, so the court reversed and remanded for the Court of Appeal to assess prejudice.