People v. Hannah

86 Cal. Rptr. 2d 395, 73 Cal. App. 4th 270, 99 Daily Journal DAR 6791, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5347, 1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 636
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 1, 1999
DocketB126607
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 86 Cal. Rptr. 2d 395 (People v. Hannah) 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. Hannah, 86 Cal. Rptr. 2d 395, 73 Cal. App. 4th 270, 99 Daily Journal DAR 6791, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5347, 1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 636 (Cal. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

*272 Opinion

TURNER, P. J.

I. Introduction

Defendant, Carolyn Jean Hannah, appeals from her suspended state prison sentence and grant of probation following her conviction for felony petty theft (Pen. Code, 1 § 484) and the determination that she had previously served two prison sentences. (§ 667.5, subd. (b).) Defendant argues that the prosecutor improperly exercised a peremptory challenge. The Attorney General argues that the trial court should have imposed a fine pursuant to section 1202.45. In the published portion of this opinion, we address the issue of whether a section 1202.45 fine must be imposed when a defendant is placed on probation.

II. Discussion

A. Wheeler Motion *

B. Section 1202.45 Fine

The trial court imposed a $200 restitution fine pursuant to section 1202.4, subdivision (b)(1). The Attorney General requests that this court modify the judgment to include a fine pursuant to section 1202.45, which provides: “In every case where a person is convicted of a crime and whose sentence includes a period of parole, the court shall at the time of imposing the restitution fine pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1202.4, assess an additional restitution fine in the same amount as that imposed pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1202.4. This additional restitution fine shall be suspended unless the person’s parole is revoked.” In the case of People v. Hong (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 1071, 1084 [76 Cal.Rptr.2d 23], this court determined in a case where the defendant was sentenced to prison that the failure to impose a mandatory fine amounted to a jurisdictional error which can be raised for the first time on appeal by the Attorney General. (People v. Scott (1994) 9 Cal.4th 331, 354 [36 Cal.Rptr.2d 627, 885 P.2d 1040]; People v. Welch (1993) 5 Cal.4th 228, 235 [19 Cal.Rptr.2d 520, 851 P.2d 802]; People v. Karaman (1992) 4 Cal.4th 335, 345-346, fn. 11 [14 Cal.Rptr.2d 801, 842 P.2d 100]; In re Ricky H. (1981) 30 Cal.3d 176, 191 *273 [178 Cal.Rptr. 324, 636 P.2d 13]; People v. Davis (1981) 29 Cal.3d 814, 827, fn. 5 [176 Cal.Rptr. 521, 633 P.2d 186]; People v. Serrato (1973) 9 Cal.3d 753, 763-765 [109 Cal.Rptr. 65, 512 P.2d 289], overruled on another point in People v. Fosselman (1983) 33 Cal.3d 572, 583, fn. 1 [189 Cal.Rptr. 855, 659 P.2d 1144]; In re Sandel (1966) 64 Cal.2d 412, 414-418 [50 Cal.Rptr. 462, 412 P.2d 806].) The Attorney General argues that Hong, a case where the defendant was sentenced to prison, applies when the accused is placed on probation.

This is an issue of statutory interpretation. We apply the following standard of statutory review described by the California Supreme Court: “When interpreting a statute our primary task is to determine the Legislature’s intent. [Citation.] In doing so we turn first to the statutory language, since the words the Legislature chose are the best indicators of its intent.” (Freedom Newspapers, Inc. v. Orange County Employees Retirement System (1993) 6 Cal.4th 821, 826 [25 Cal.Rptr.2d 148, 863 P.2d 218]; People v. Jones (1993) 5 Cal.4th 1142, 1146 [22 Cal.Rptr.2d 753, 857 P.2d 1163].) The Supreme Court has emphasized that the words in a statute selected by the Legislature must be given a “commonsense” meaning when it noted: “ ‘Our first step [in determining the Legislature’s intent] is to scrutinize the actual words of the statute, giving them a plain and commonsense meaning. (Mercer v. Department of Motor Vehicles (1991) 53 Cal.3d 753, 763 . . . ; Lungren v. Deukmejian (1988) 45 Cal.3d 727, 735 ....)’ (People v. Valladoli (1996) 13 Cal.4th 590, 597 . . . .)” (California Teachers Assn. v. Governing Bd. of Rialto Unified School Dist. (1997) 14 Cal.4th 627, 633 [59 Cal.Rptr.2d 671, 927 P.2d 1175].) Further, our Supreme Court has noted: “ ‘If the language is clear and unambiguous there is no need for construction, nor is it necessary to resort to indicia of the intent of the Legislature (in the case of a statute) . . . .’” (Delaney v. Superior Court (1990) 50 Cal.3d 785, 798 [268 Cal.Rptr. 753, 789 P.2d 934].) However, the literal meaning of a statute must be in accord with its purpose as the Supreme Court noted in Lakin v. Watkins Associated Industries (1993) 6 Cal.4th 644, 658-659 [25 Cal.Rptr.2d 109, 863 P.2d 179] as follows: “We are not prohibited ‘from determining whether the literal meaning of a statute comports with its purpose or whether such a construction of one provision is consistent with other provisions of the statute. The meaning of a statute may not be determined from a single word or sentence; the words must be construed in context, and provisions relating to the same subject matter must be harmonized to the extent possible. [Citation.] Literal construction should not prevail if it is contrary to the legislative intent apparent in the [statute], . . .’” In Lungren v. Deukmejian (1988) 45 Cal.3d 727, 735 [248 Cal.Rptr. 115, 755 P.2d 299], our Supreme Court added: “The intent prevails over the letter, and the letter will, if possible, be so read as to conform to the *274 spirit of the act. [Citations.] An interpretation that renders related provisions nugatory must be avoided [citation]; each sentence must be read not in isolation but in light of the statutory scheme [citation] . . . .” The Supreme Court has held: “ ‘The courts must give statutes a reasonable construction which conforms to the apparent purpose and intention of the lawmakers.’ (Clean Air Constituency v. California State Air Resources Bd. (1974) 11 Cal.3d 801, 813 . .

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86 Cal. Rptr. 2d 395, 73 Cal. App. 4th 270, 99 Daily Journal DAR 6791, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5347, 1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 636, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hannah-calctapp-1999.