People v. Cooper

101 Cal. App. Supp. 4th 1, 125 Cal. Rptr. 2d 188, 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9574, 2002 Cal. App. LEXIS 4646
CourtAppellate Division of the Superior Court of California
DecidedJuly 10, 2002
DocketNo BR41757
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 101 Cal. App. Supp. 4th 1 (People v. Cooper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Superior Court of California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Cooper, 101 Cal. App. Supp. 4th 1, 125 Cal. Rptr. 2d 188, 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9574, 2002 Cal. App. LEXIS 4646 (Cal. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

[Supp. 4]*Supp. 4Opinion

KRIEGLER, Acting P. J.

Defendant Robert Cooper (hereinafter appellant) appeals from his conviction of violating Vehicle Code section 22350 (unsafe speed for prevailing conditions).

On December 19, 2000, appellant was issued a citation for violating Vehicle Code section 22350. Following a court trial, appellant was convicted of the charged offense. This timely appeal follows. On appeal, appellant asserts the following contentions.

1. The trial court committed reversible error by violating appellant’s statutory right to a trial by declaration.
2. Appellant was denied equal protection under the law because the officer admitted that everyone drives two or three times the posted speed limit.
3. The officer’s admission that he lacked territorial jurisdiction in Beverly Hills precludes appellant’s conviction.
4. The judgment should be reversed because the prosecution failed to introduce an engineering and traffic survey, and failed to establish the absence of a speed trap.

We first address appellant’s contention that the trial court committed reversible error by denying his request to proceed by way of a trial by written declaration.

California Rules of Court, rule 828 sets forth the minimum procedural requirements for trials by written declaration. Rule 828(b)(2) provides: “If the clerk receives defendant’s written request for a trial by written declaration by the appearance date indicated on the Notice to Appear, the clerk shall, within 15 calendar days after receiving defendant’s written request, extend the appearance date 25 calendar days and shall give or mail notice to defendant of the extended due date on the Request for Trial by Written Declaration (form TR-205) with a copy of the Instructions to Defendant (form TR-200) and any other required forms.”

Appellant’s argument that the trial court committed reversible error when it denied his request for a trial by declaration must be rejected because the request was both untimely and not in written form. California Rules of Court, rule 828(b)(2) requires that a request for a trial by declaration be made in writing by the appearance date indicated on the notice to appear. [Supp. 5]*Supp. 5According to the record before us, appellant made an oral request for a trial by declaration on April 24, 2001,1 over two and one-half months after the February 2, 2001 appearance date indicated on the notice to appear. The trial court therefore properly denied appellant’s request for a trial by declaration.

We next turn to appellant’s contention that his conviction deprives him of equal protection of the law. This contention is totally devoid of merit.

In his brief, appellant argues that: “Because the Equal Protection Clause requires that similarly situated people be treated the same, the officer’s admission that everyone drives two or three times the posted speed limit precludes defendant’s conviction.” However, “[a] defendant is not denied equal protection of the law simply because he is convicted while a codefendant is not (Harris v. Rivera (1981) 454 U.S. 339 [70 L.Ed.2d 530, 102 S.Ct. 460]), or because a codefendant is convicted of a lesser offense. (People v. Ferrell (1972) 25 Cal.App.3d 970 [102 Cal.Rptr. 372].) Rather, the pivotal issue is whether the defendant is singled out for disproportionate treatment (Gregg v. Georgia (1976) 428 U.S. 153 [49 L.Ed.2d 859, 96 S.Ct. 2909]), and that has not occurred here.” (People v. Superior Court (Bridgette) (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 1649, 1652 [235 Cal.Rptr. 113].)

There is no indication in the record that appellant was singled out for disproportionate treatment or was the victim of invidious discrimination. The settled statement is silent on the issue of discrimination, and appellant makes no substantive argument on the point in his brief. We reject appellant’s novel claim that he was denied equal protection because other speeding drivers were not cited.

Appellant next argues the citing officer had no authority to issue a citation to him in the City of Beverly Hills. Appellant reasons that he was cited by an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department at a location in the City of Beverly Hills, and there is no indication that the Chief of Police of the City of Beverly Hills had authorized a Los Angeles officer to issue tickets in Beverly Hills under Penal Code section 830.1, subdivision (a)(2).2

The flaw in appellant’s argument is that it fails to grasp that subdivision (a)(1) and subdivision (a)(2) of Penal Code section 830.1 are two completely [Supp. 6]*Supp. 6independent sources of authority for peace officers. Under subdivision (a)(1), the local peace officer’s authority extends to any place in the state for a public offense committed within the political subdivision which employs the officer. As a separate and distinct source of power, subdivision (a)(2) provides that a city police officer also has jurisdiction anywhere in the state where the officer is acting with the consent of the local chief of police or sheriff.

By focusing on the rule set forth in subdivision (a)(2), appellant’s argument ignores the plain language of Penal Code section 830.1, subdivision (a)(1). Under Penal Code section 830.1, subdivision (a), “The authority of these peace officers extends to any place in the state, as follows: [][] (1) As to any public offense committed or which there is probable cause to believe has been committed within the political subdivision which employs the peace officer.” We interpret subdivision (a)(1) as allowing an officer to issue a citation in an adjacent jurisdiction, even without the consent of the chief of police of the adjoining city, where the offense is committed in both jurisdictions. In addition to the plain language used by the Legislature, common sense dictates that where a traffic infraction is committed in two adjoining jurisdictions, an officer in pursuit of a traffic offender is not required to halt at the border of the second city to await the arrival of officers of the adjacent jurisdiction.

The record in the instant case demonstrates the practicality of this interpretation of Penal Code section 830.1, subdivision (a)(1). The settled statement on appeal indicates the pacing of appellant’s vehicle started in the City of Los Angeles, when Los Angeles Police Officer N. Barbara began his pace of appellant’s vehicle “at Beverly Glenn Boulevard in the City of Los Angeles and continued to Whittier Drive in the City of Beverly Hills, California where Appellant was stopped and issued a citation” for driving 62 miles per hour in a 3 5-miles-per-hour zone. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the express and implied findings of the trial court, as required on appeal (People v. Catlin (2001) 26 Cal.4th 81, 139 [109 Cal.Rptr.2d 31, 26 P.3d 357]), the record supports the conclusion that appellant’s offense was committed, at least in part, in the City of Los Angeles.

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Opinion No. (2008)
California Attorney General Reports, 2008
People v. Landis
68 Cal. Rptr. 3d 267 (California Supreme Court, 2007)
People v. Landis
156 Cal. App. Supp. 4th 12 (Appellate Division of the Superior Court of California, 2007)
People v. Cooper
125 Cal. Rptr. 2d 188 (California Supreme Court, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
101 Cal. App. Supp. 4th 1, 125 Cal. Rptr. 2d 188, 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9574, 2002 Cal. App. LEXIS 4646, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-cooper-calappdeptsuper-2002.