Harris v. Superior Court of San Joaquin Cnty.

222 Cal. Rptr. 3d 192, 14 Cal. App. 5th 142
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedAugust 9, 2017
DocketC083669
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 222 Cal. Rptr. 3d 192 (Harris v. Superior Court of San Joaquin Cnty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris v. Superior Court of San Joaquin Cnty., 222 Cal. Rptr. 3d 192, 14 Cal. App. 5th 142 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

MURRAY, J.

*145This is a petition for writ of mandate by petitioner Homer Laron Harris after the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of San Joaquin County (Appellate Division) summarily denied the appointment of counsel to represent him in his appeal of a restitution order in connection with a misdemeanor conviction. We conclude that appellate counsel should be appointed to represent petitioner on appeal. Accordingly, we shall issue a writ of mandate directing the Appellate Division to vacate its order denying petitioner's request for appointed counsel and enter a new order granting that *146request. In doing so, we conclude that an order requiring the payment of restitution is a "significant adverse collateral consequence" within the meaning of California Rules of Court, rule 8.851(a)(1)(A),1 requiring the appointment of counsel for an indigent defendant on appeal in a misdemeanor case.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Superior Court Proceedings

On April 6, 2016, the district attorney filed an amended complaint charging petitioner with misdemeanor corporal injury to a spouse/cohabitant/parent of child ( Pen. Code, § 273.5, subd. (a) ; count 1);2 misdemeanor vandalism (§ 594, subd. (a)(1); counts 2 & 4); and misdemeanor dissuading a witness (§ 136.1, subd. (b)(1); count 3). Petitioner subsequently pleaded no contest to count 1, and the remaining charges were dismissed in the interest of justice in light of the plea. Imposition of sentence was suspended, and petitioner was granted three years of formal probation and ordered to serve 45 days in county jail as a condition of probation and to pay various fines and fees, totaling $735. No restitution to the victim was ordered at that time. On October 31, 2016, the trial court modified petitioner's probation following a restitution hearing and ordered him to serve his original 45-day jail sentence and pay restitution in the amount of $1,571.32.

On November 21, 2016, petitioner, through appointed counsel who represented defendant at the restitution hearing, filed a notice of appeal of the trial court's restitution order and requested the appointment *195of counsel to represent him on appeal. The form created by the Judicial Council to request counsel, and used here, instructs defendants in item 3 to "[d]escribe the punishment the court gave you/your client in this case (check all that apply and fill in any required information) ." Only the box labeled "Restitution" was checked and $1,571.32 was filled in on the line provided for the amount of restitution ordered. The form further instructs in item 4: "Describe any significant harm that you are/your client is likely to suffer because of this conviction ." In response, the form submitted on defendant's behalf stated: "[Petitioner] faces serious financial harm as a result of the restitution judgment rendered in this case. The amount of restitution ordered is exponential; and the statutory standard, used to determine the restitution amount, was not upheld. Accordingly, such a judgment not only jeopardizes [petitioner's] financial well-being, but could later affect his credit should any sort of civil judgment be imposed." *147The Appellate Division summarily denied petitioner's request for appointed counsel.

Writ Proceedings

Petitioner filed in this court the instant petition for writ of mandate and request for a stay, arguing that he had a right to appeal the restitution order because he was likely to suffer "significant adverse collateral consequences" from the order and therefore had a right to the appointment of counsel under California Rules of Court, rule 8.851.3 This court issued a temporary stay, pending filing of opposition and further order. Thereafter, this court received preliminary informal opposition from the Attorney General on behalf of real party in interest the People of the State of California, contending that the request for appointed counsel was properly denied because the restitution order was not a "significant adverse collateral consequence" of petitioner's conviction but rather, a "direct consequence" of his guilty plea and thus was not a matter for which rule 8.851 required appointment of counsel. In his reply to the preliminary opposition, petitioner maintained his position that the restitution order was a significant collateral consequence requiring the Appellate Division to appoint appellate counsel pursuant to rule 8.851. Additionally, for the first time, petitioner argued in the alternative, that regardless of the restitution order, petitioner was nevertheless entitled to the appointment of counsel under rule 8.851(a)(1)(A), because his punishment included 45 days in county jail as well as fines totaling more than $500. That same day, this court issued an order to show cause why the relief prayed for in the proceeding should not be granted.

In the People's return to order to show cause, the Attorney General conceded that pursuant to rule 8.851(a)(1)(A), "[d]espite the fact that petitioner's request for counsel failed to properly describe all of the punishment imposed in his case, the appointment of counsel is required because *196his sentence included jail time and fines totaling $735." Accordingly, the Attorney General conceded the petition for writ of mandate should be granted. Petitioner filed a traverse to the Attorney General's return, accepting the People's concession but maintaining he was also entitled to relief under the "original theory argued-that the restitution amount ordered was a collateral *148consequence that rendered substantial harm." We address that issue to clarify that an order requiring the payment of restitution in the amount ordered here is a "significant adverse collateral consequence" within the meaning of rule 8.851.

DISCUSSION

I. Significant Adverse Collateral Consequences

Rule 8.851 sets forth the standards for appointment of counsel in misdemeanor appeals. The Appellate Division "must" appoint counsel for a misdemeanor appellant who "is likely to suffer significant adverse collateral consequences as a result of the conviction[ ] and [¶] [w]as represented by appointed counsel in the trial court or establishes indigency." ( Rule 8.851(a)(1) & (a)(1)(A), italics added; see fn. 3, ante .)

The phrase, "significant adverse collateral consequences" is not defined in the rule or elsewhere in the Rules of Court. Further, there is no published case law interpreting this phrase in the rule. We do so here.

In interpreting the language of the rule, we apply traditional rules of statutory interpretation. ( Rossa v. D.L. Falk Construction, Inc. (2012) 53 Cal.4th 387, 391, 135 Cal.Rptr.3d 329

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Bluebook (online)
222 Cal. Rptr. 3d 192, 14 Cal. App. 5th 142, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-v-superior-court-of-san-joaquin-cnty-calctapp5d-2017.