People v. Diaz

8 Cal. App. 5th 812, 214 Cal. Rptr. 3d 169, 2017 WL 604715, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 123
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 15, 2017
DocketB269048
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 8 Cal. App. 5th 812 (People v. Diaz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Diaz, 8 Cal. App. 5th 812, 214 Cal. Rptr. 3d 169, 2017 WL 604715, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 123 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinions

Opinion

WILLHITE, J.

—The People of the State of California appeal from the order granting the petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by Robert Mark Diaz. We reverse the order, and reinstate Diaz’s prison sentence of six years.

BACKGROUND

This is the third time this case has come before us. As we explained on the first occasion—Diaz’s direct appeal from his judgment of conviction—a Los Angeles Superior Court jury convicted Diaz of possession of a firearm by a felon (Pen. Code, § 29800, subd. (a)(1)).1 He admitted one prior strike conviction (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d)), and two prior prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). The superior court sentenced him to a term of six years in prison, including one year for each of his two prior prison [816]*816terms under section 667.5, subdivision (b). The prior felony conviction underlying one of the section 667.5, subdivision (b) enhancements was a 2009 conviction in San Bernardino Superior Court under former section 666, commonly called petty theft with a prior.

While Diaz’s appeal from the judgment was pending, California voters approved Proposition 47, the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” Proposition 47 reduced certain nonserious, nonviolent felonies, including petty theft with a prior, to misdemeanors, and provided a procedure under section 1170.18, subdivision (1) et seq., for persons who have completed a felony sentence for such an offense to apply for reclassification of the conviction as a misdemeanor.

Diaz contended that his 2009 felony conviction of petty theft with a prior would be a misdemeanor if Proposition 47 had been in effect at the time of that offense, and that therefore it could not be the basis of an enhancement of his sentence under section 667.5, subdivision (b). He urged us to declare the conviction a misdemeanor and strike the section 667.5, subdivision (b) enhancement. We held defendant’s contention that Proposition 47 compelled the striking of his section 667.5, subdivision (b) enhancement was premature, because defendant was required first to file an application in the court of conviction under section 1170.18, subdivision (f) to have his 2009 conviction designated as a misdemeanor. (People v. Diaz (2015) 238 Cal.App.4th 1323, 1327-1328 [190 Cal.Rptr.3d 479] (Diaz).) We therefore affirmed the judgment.

Following his appeal, Diaz filed a petition under section 1170.18, subdivision (f) in the San Bernardino Superior Court to redesignate his 2009 conviction of petty theft with a prior as a misdemeanor. The San Bernardino court granted the petition, designated the crime as a misdemeanor, and resentenced defendant to 180 days in county jail with credit for that time.

Defendant then filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in this court requesting that his section 667.5, subdivision (b) enhancement based on the 2009 conviction be stricken. We issued an order to show cause, returnable in the Los Angeles Superior Court, why the section 667.5, subdivision (b) prior should not be stricken based on the redesignation of the 2009 conviction. After briefing and argument, the superior court granted the petition. The court struck the section 667.5, subdivision (b) prior based on the 2009 conviction, resentenced defendant to five years in state prison, and, based on his presentence credits for 2,276 days, ordered him released from custody. The People appeal from the court’s grant of the habeas corpus petition.

[817]*817DISCUSSION

The People contend that the reclassification of defendant’s 2009 felony conviction of petty theft with a prior as a misdemeanor, which occurred after his original sentence, does not preclude its use to support his section 667.5, subdivision (b) enhancement. We agree. The redesignation under Proposition 47 of a prior felony conviction to a misdemeanor operates prospectively, from the date of the redesignation forward, and not retroactively, as if the conviction always had been a misdemeanor.

The Supreme Court has granted review in several cases that have reached the same conclusion. (See, e.g., People v. Jones (2016) 1 Cal.App.5th 221 [204 Cal.Rptr.3d 369], review granted Sept. 14, 2016, S235901; People v. Valenzuela (2016) 244 Cal.App.4th 692 [198 Cal.Rptr.3d 276], review granted Mar. 30, 2016, S232900; People v. Williams (2016) 245 Cal.App.4th 458 [199 Cal.Rptr.3d 755], review granted May 11, 2016, S233539; People v. Carrea (2016) 244 Cal.App.4th 966 [198 Cal.Rptr.3d 753], review granted Apr. 27, 2016, S233011; People v. Ruff (2016) 244 Cal.App.4th 935 [198 Cal.Rptr.3d 704], review granted May 11, 2016, S233201.) We align ourselves with the reasoning of those decisions, and use it here.2

[818]*818I. Statutory Interpretation

“When we interpret an initiative, we apply the same principles governing statutory construction. We first consider the initiative’s language, giving the words their ordinary meaning and construing this language in the context of the statute and initiative as a whole. If the language is not ambiguous, we presume the voters intended the meaning apparent from that language, and we may not add to the statute or rewrite it to conform to some assumed intent not apparent from that language. If the language is ambiguous, courts may consider ballot summaries and arguments in determining the voters’ intent and understanding of a ballot measure.” (People v. Superior Court (Pearson) (2010) 48 Cal.4th 564, 571 [107 Cal.Rptr.3d 265, 227 P.3d 858].)

Although Proposition 47 does not expressly so state, its language clearly implies that it has no retroactive effect. Proposition 47 creates two separate mechanisms for redesignating offenses. The first applies to a defendant currently “serving a sentence for [that] conviction” and allows for the “recall” of that felony sentence and for resentencing contingent upon a finding that the redesignation will not pose an “unreasonable risk that the [defendant] will commit a new violent felony within the meaning of’ section 667, subdivision (e)(2)(C)(iv). (§ 1170.18, subds. (a), (b) & (c).) The second applies to a defendant who has “completed his or her sentence” and allows for re-“designat[ion]” of that offense as a misdemeanor. {Id., subds. (1) & (g).) There is no mechanism for resentencing on a felony not affected by Proposition 47 merely because an offense underlying one of its prior conviction enhancements is so affected. Moreover, Proposition 47 expressly provides that the two mechanisms it creates are exhaustive: “Nothing in this and related sections is intended to diminish or abrogate the finality of judgments in any case not falling within the purview of this act.” (§ 1170.18, subd. (n).)

Moreover, Proposition 47 borrows language from section 17 that has a well-defined meaning and that does not grant an offense’s redesignation as a misdemeanor retroactive effect. Proposition 47 expressly provides that “[a]ny felony conviction that is recalled and resentenced” under either of the two statutory mechanisms “shall be considered a misdemeanor for all purposes.” (§ 1170.18, subd.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
8 Cal. App. 5th 812, 214 Cal. Rptr. 3d 169, 2017 WL 604715, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 123, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-diaz-calctapp-2017.