People v. Brown

198 Cal. Rptr. 3d 789, 244 Cal. App. 4th 1170, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 116
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 4th District
DecidedFebruary 17, 2016
DocketE063384
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 198 Cal. Rptr. 3d 789 (People v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 4th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Brown, 198 Cal. Rptr. 3d 789, 244 Cal. App. 4th 1170, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 116 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

McKINSTER, J.

*1174In accordance with a plea bargain, defendant Karen Renee Brown pleaded guilty to one count of receiving stolen property in violation of Penal Code 1 section 496, subdivision (a). The People dismissed two additional felony counts of receiving stolen property in violation of section 496, subdivision (a), and dismissed three felony counts of identity theft in violation of section 530.5, subdivision (a). The plea agreement anticipated defendant would serve two years in county jail. The trial court accepted defendant's plea and sentenced her to two years in county jail as recommended by the People. Shortly thereafter, the voters approved Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, which reduced certain property and drug offenses from felonies to misdemeanors and provides for resentencing of certain defendants currently serving felony sentences under prior law. Defendant promptly petitioned the trial court for resentencing. The trial court granted defendant's petition and resentenced her to 364 days in county jail.

In this appeal, the People contend the trial court erred by granting defendant's petition. According to the People, Proposition 47 should not be interpreted in a manner that permits a defendant to reap the benefit of a plea bargain entered into before Proposition 47 without serving the full sentence she agreed to. The People also argue defendant did not establish she is eligible for resentencing under Proposition 47. Defendant did not show she would have been guilty of a misdemeanor (and consequently she would have been subject to a sentence of no more than one year in county jail), had Proposition 47 been in effect at the time of her offense, because under those circumstances the People would not have dismissed the felony counts that were left undisturbed by the voters. Finally, assuming this court rejects the first two arguments, the People contend defendant breached her obligation under the plea bargain to serve two years in county jail, and the People should be permitted on remand to withdraw from the plea bargain and reinstate the dismissed felony counts.

*1175We affirm. Under the plain language of Proposition 47, certain felony convictions obtained by guilty plea are eligible for resentencing as misdemeanors. While we may be sympathetic with the People's assertion that our reading of Proposition 47 permits some defendants to obtain the full benefits of their plea agreements without fully performing their side of the bargain, nothing in defendant's plea agreement insulated it from changes in the law. We also conclude defendant met her burden of establishing eligibility for resentencing. The People do not contend defendant received property valued at more than $950, such that her conviction under section 496 *792is categorically ineligible for resentencing under Proposition 47, and defendant was not required to demonstrate the People would have offered her the same plea bargain had Proposition 47 been in effect when she committed her crimes. We also conclude the People are not entitled to withdraw from the plea bargain and to reinstate the dismissed counts because Proposition 47 had the limited effect of reducing defendant's sentence-she remains convicted. Finally, we direct the trial court on remand to either order defendant to serve a one-year term of parole as mandated by section 1170.18, subdivision (d), or to exercise its discretion to release defendant from parole.

I.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The People charged defendant by felony complaint with three counts of receiving stolen property (§ 496, subd. (a), counts 1-3), and three counts of identity theft (§ 530.5, subd. (a), counts 4-6). At her arraignment, defendant agreed to plead guilty to count 1 in exchange for the dismissal of counts 2 through 6 and a sentencing recommendation from the People of two years in county jail. Defendant pleaded guilty to count 1 and admitted to receiving stolen mail. The trial court found a factual basis for defendant's guilty plea and subsequently sentenced defendant to two years in county jail with 80 days of pretrial and good conduct credit.

One month after her sentencing, defendant filed a petition in the superior court requesting that she be resentenced to misdemeanor receipt of stolen property pursuant to Proposition 47. In response, the People requested a hearing to determine whether they could withdraw from the plea agreement with defendant. The People argued defendant was not entitled to resentencing under Proposition 47 because she agreed as part of her plea bargain to serve two years in county jail. Defendant, through her attorney, the public defender, replied the People could not withdraw from the plea agreement and reinstate the dismissed counts because a plea agreement incorporates and contemplates changes in the law, such as Proposition 47.

*1176At the hearing, the prosecutor requested leave to withdraw from the plea bargain "because we didn't get the benefit of our deal." The trial court paraphrased defendant's argument as, "well, it wasn't her breaking the deal, it was the voters that did it." The trial court responded to the prosecutor, "we have some analogies in Megan's Law and in three strikes and SVP, so, yeah, I realize sometimes the Legislature and voters change things up on the parties and we don't know which side it's going to affect...." The court therefore granted the petition and resentenced defendant to 364 days in county jail and credit for time served.

The People timely appealed.2

*793II.

DISCUSSION

A.

The voters adopted Proposition 47 on November 4, 2014, and it went into effect the next day. (Cal. Const., art. II, § 10, subd. (a).) "Proposition 47 makes certain drug- and theft-related offenses misdemeanors, unless the offenses were committed by certain ineligible defendants. These offenses had previously been designated as either felonies or wobblers (crimes that can be punished as either felonies or misdemeanors)." (People v. Rivera, supra, 233 Cal.App.4th at p. 1091, 183 Cal.Rptr.3d 362.) "Proposition 47 also created a new resentencing provision: section 1170.18. Under section 1170.18, a person 'currently serving' a felony sentence for an offense that is now a misdemeanor under Proposition 47, may petition for a recall of that sentence and request resentencing in accordance with the statutes that were added or amended by Proposition 47." (Id. at p. 1092, 183 Cal.Rptr.3d 362.)

There is no dispute that a conviction for receiving stolen property with a value of $950 or less is now a misdemeanor, and that, unless otherwise disqualified, a defendant currently serving a sentence for such a conviction is eligible for resentencing under Proposition 47. (§§ 496, subd. (a), *11771170.18, subd.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
198 Cal. Rptr. 3d 789, 244 Cal. App. 4th 1170, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 116, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-brown-calctapp4d-2016.