Can a defendant petition for a reduction in their sentence for possession of a firearm?

Under Proposition 36 defendants may petition for "a lesser sentence when they have two or more prior strikes and are convicted of a felony that is neither serious nor violent." (People v. Estrada (2017) 3 Cal.5th 661, 666-667.) However, a defendant is ineligible for resentencing "if, '[d]uring the commission of the current offense, the defendant . . . was armed with a firearm.'" (People v. Johnson (2015) 61 Cal.4th 674, 681.) Mere possession of a firearm (i.e., control or custody) does not disqualify a defendant from resentencing; rather, it is "'the availabilitythe

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