People v. Berg

246 Cal. Rptr. 3d 646, 34 Cal. App. 5th 856
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedApril 29, 2019
DocketD073749
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 246 Cal. Rptr. 3d 646 (People v. Berg) 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
People v. Berg, 246 Cal. Rptr. 3d 646, 34 Cal. App. 5th 856 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

AARON, J.

*859I.

INTRODUCTION

In Griset v. Fair Political Practices Com. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 688, 701, 107 Cal.Rptr.2d 149, 23 P.3d 43 ( Griset II ), the California Supreme Court explained, "An unqualified affirmance 'ordinarily sustains the judgment and ends the litigation.' " The Griset II court applied this principle in concluding that a trial court lacked jurisdiction, after the unqualified affirmance of its prior judgment, to consider a party's renewed motion for summary judgment based on a change in the law. ( Id. at pp. 694-695, 701, 107 Cal.Rptr.2d 149, 23 P.3d 43.) The Griset II court ruled that the trial court's "later judgment [on the renewed motion for *860summary judgment] was void insofar as it encompassed or rested upon a redetermination of the merits of the litigation." ( Id. at p. 701, 107 Cal.Rptr.2d 149, 23 P.3d 43.)

In this case, the trial court granted petitioner Jason A. Berg's petition for writ of habeas corpus, and we issued an opinion in a prior appeal that constituted an "unqualified affirmance" ( Griset II , supra , 25 Cal.4th at p. 701, 107 Cal.Rptr.2d 149, 23 P.3d 43 ) of the order granting the petition. ( In re Berg (2016) 247 Cal.App.4th 418, 202 Cal.Rptr.3d 786 ( Berg I ), review granted July 27, 2016, S235277 briefing deferred pursuant to Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.512(d)(2), review dismissed July 26, 2017.) After the issuance of the remittitur in Berg I ,1 the People filed a pleading in the trial court styled as a "Request to Reconsider and Vacate Previous Order." (Some capitalization omitted.) In their request, the People asked the court to vacate its prior order granting Berg's petition for writ of habeas corpus in light of an anticipated change in the law. In January 2018, after the new law became effective, the trial court granted the People's request, vacated its prior order granting Berg's petition for writ of habeas corpus, and issued a new order denying the petition.

In his opening brief, Berg claims that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to vacate its prior order granting his petition for writ of habeas corpus, among other contentions. We asked the parties to file supplemental letter briefs addressing the following question:

"What effect, if any, does [ Griset II , supra ,] 25 Cal.4th 688 [107 Cal.Rptr.2d 149, 23 P.3d 43], have on the issues in this case? (See *649id. at p. 701 [107 Cal.Rptr.2d 149, 23 P.3d 43] [trial court did 'not have jurisdiction to reopen or retry the case' after 'unqualified affirmance' of prior judgment].)"2

After careful consideration of the parties' supplemental, as well as their principal, briefs, we conclude that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to *861vacate its prior order granting the petition for writ of habeas corpus based on a change in the law. The People advance no authority or compelling argument for why the controlling principles decided in Griset II do not apply here. Griset II makes clear that a trial court lacks jurisdiction, after an unqualified affirmance, to reconsider the merits of an action, even in the face of a change in the law.

Further, applying this aspect of Griset II to habeas corpus proceedings is entirely consistent with case law providing that "[a] final order or judgment granting relief to a petitioner on habeas corpus is a conclusive determination ...." ( In re Crow (1971) 4 Cal.3d 613, 623, 94 Cal.Rptr. 254, 483 P.2d 1206 ( Crow ); see Jackson v. Superior Court (2010) (Jackson ) 189 Cal.App.4th 1051, 1067, 118 Cal.Rptr.3d 81 [trial court loses jurisdiction to reconsider habeas ruling where ruling becomes "final and binding, or when the People filed a notice of appeal from the order"].) In short, we are aware of no principle of law that would permit the People, within this same habeas proceeding, "to revive this litigation after its final conclusion." ( Griset II , supra , 25 Cal.4th at p. 702, 107 Cal.Rptr.2d 149

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
246 Cal. Rptr. 3d 646, 34 Cal. App. 5th 856, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-berg-calctapp5d-2019.