People v. Hunt

213 Cal. App. 4th 13, 151 Cal. Rptr. 3d 874, 2013 WL 331340, 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 51
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 25, 2013
DocketNo. B243715
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 213 Cal. App. 4th 13 (People v. Hunt) 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. Hunt, 213 Cal. App. 4th 13, 151 Cal. Rptr. 3d 874, 2013 WL 331340, 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 51 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion

TURNER, P. J.

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant, Michael Earl Hunt, appeals the judgment entered after he pled no contest to one count of transporting cocaine in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11352, subdivision (a). Defendant transported the cocaine on March 7, 2012. As we will discuss in detail, pursuant to a plea [15]*15bargain, defendant was sentenced to nine years in prison; the execution of sentence was suspended; and defendant was placed on probation. The trial court imposed a Penal Code1 section 1202.4, subdivision (b)(1) minimum $240 restitution fine. In addition, the trial court imposed and stayed a section 1202.45 parole restitution fine. Despite the fact defendant was placed on probation, no section 1202.44 probation restitution fine was assessed. In the published portion of this opinion, we address whether a section 1202.45 parole or section 1202.44 probation restitution fine should have been imposed and stayed. We conclude that even though the execution of sentence was suspended, the section 1202.44 restitution fine should have been assessed and stayed.

H. PROCEDURAL SETTING

Defendant pled no contest to the cocaine transportation charge in count 1 of the information. Defendant also admitted he had sustained a prior serious felony conviction for robbery within the meaning of sections 667, subdivisions (b) through (i) and 1170.12; served a prior prison term (§ 667, subd. (b)) and sustained a prior felony drug conviction (Health & Saf. Code, § 11370.2). The trial court dismissed the prior serious felony conviction within the meaning of sections 667, subdivisions (b) through (i) and 1170.12 on the ground of its age. The parties agree defendant’s prior robbery conviction renders him ineligible for a felony county jail sentence. (§ 1170, subd. (h)(2).) Pursuant to the plea agreement, the trial court dismissed count 2 of the information which had charged defendant with possession of cocaine for purposes of sale. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351.5.) On July 26, 2012, defendant was sentenced to prison for nine years, which consisted of the high term of five years for count 1; plus three years for the prior drug conviction; and one year for the prior prison term enhancement. Execution of the sentence was suspended and defendant was placed on formal probation for three years. Defendant was ordered to pay a restitution fine of $240 (Pen. Code, § 1202.4) and a parole revocation restitution fine of $240 (§ 1202.45) which was suspended unless parole was revoked. No section 1202.44 probation restitution fine was imposed. Defendant was ordered to pay a $30 criminal conviction fee (Gov. Code, § 70373, subd. (a)(1)); a $40 court operations assessment (Pen. Code, § 1465.8, subd. (a)(1)); and only a $30 criminal laboratory fee. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11372.5, subd. (a).) Defendant received a total presentence custody credit of 284 days, consisting of 142 days of actual custody plus 142 days of conduct credit.

[16]*16III. DISCUSSION

A. Unpublished Discussion
B. The Parole Restitution Fine Must Be Modified to Be a Probation Restitution Fine

As noted, the execution of sentence was suspended. The trial court orally imposed a $240 minimum parole restitution fine. In addition, the trial court imposed a $240 section 1202.45* 2 parole restitution fine. No section 1202.44 probation restitution fine was imposed. We asked the parties to brief the question of whether a section 1202.44 probation or section 1202.45 parole restitution fine should have been imposed.

Previously, we held in People v. Hannah (1999) 73 Cal.App.4th 270, 274-275 [86 Cal.Rptr.2d 395] that when the execution of sentence is suspended, no section 1202.45 parole restitution fine may be imposed. Hannah was decided before section 1202.44 was adopted in 2004. (Stats. 2004, ch. 223, § 3, pp. 2432-2433.) We explained our analysis thusly: “Defendant is presently not subject to a parole period and will not be absent a revocation of her probation and commitment to prison. Only if committed to prison will defendant be subject to a period of parole and a section 1202.45 fine.” (People v. Hannah, supra, at p. 274.) We then discussed our analysis in People v. Oganesyan (1999) 70 Cal.App.4th 1178, 1181-1186 [83 Cal.Rptr.2d 157]. In Oganesyan, we held that no parole revocation fine could be imposed upon a murderer receiving a life in prison without possibility of parole sentence. We reasoned that since the life in prison without possibility of parole sentence did not include a period of parole, section 1202.45 was inapplicable. (Oganesyan, at pp. 1184—1185; see People v. McWhorter (2009) 47 Cal.4th 318, 380 [97 Cal.Rptr.3d 412, 212 P.3d 692].) In Hannah, after analyzing our analysis in Oganesyan, we concluded; “As in Oganesyan, it would be inappropriate to impose a section 1202.45 fine, which requires the imposition of a sentence that includes a period of parole when, as matters now stand, such a state of affairs does not exist; particularly given the [17]*17complete absence of evidence of a legislative intent that the fine be imposed when a defendant is placed on probation. ([People v. Oganesyan, supra,] 70 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1184-1185.)” (People v. Hannah, supra, 73 Cal.App.4th at pp. 274-275.)

Three other Courts of Appeal have disagreed with our analysis in Hannah that when the execution of sentence is suspended, no parole restitution fine may be imposed. All three cases were decided before section 1202.44 was enacted in 2004. (People v. Calabrese (2002) 101 Cal.App.4th 79, 86-87 [123 Cal.Rptr.2d 570]; People v. Tye (2000) 83 Cal.App.4th 1398, 1400-1401 [100 Cal.Rptr.2d 507]; see People v. Andrade (2002) 100 Cal.App.4th 351, 355 & fn. 2 [121 Cal.Rptr.2d 923].) In Tye, Division Five of the First Appellate District explained its disagreement with Hannah: “The Attorney General persuasively argues that Hannah was incorrectly decided. The Hannah court relied upon an earlier decision in which the restitution fine under Penal Code section 1202.45 was held not to apply to a defendant sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole, because ‘the [defendant’s] sentence does not presently allow for parole and there is no evidence it ever will.’ (People v. Oganesyan[, supra,] 70 Cal.App.4th [at pp. 1185-1186].) Oganesyan is distinguishable: Tye’s sentence does hold the possibility of a period of parole, as did the defendant’s sentence in Hannah, if probation is revoked and the defendant is committed to prison. Here, in fact, when Tye was sentenced to four years in prison, the court advised him that he would be on parole for three years following release from prison. The fact that execution of sentence was suspended does not negate the fact that defendant’s sentence, if ultimately executed, includes a period of parole. [][] The conclusion reached by the Hannah court makes sense when probation is granted upon suspension of imposition of sentence, for in that situation the defendant has not been sentenced to a prison term.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
213 Cal. App. 4th 13, 151 Cal. Rptr. 3d 874, 2013 WL 331340, 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hunt-calctapp-2013.