People v. Jones

249 Cal. Rptr. 3d 190, 36 Cal. App. 5th 1028
California Court of Appeal, 5th District·Decided June 28, 2019·No. E069873·Published·Cited by 201 cases

Opinion

RAPHAEL J.

*1029Defendant and appellant Carl Jones was convicted of sodomy of an unconscious victim pursuant to Penal Code section 286, subdivision (f), a felony. The trial exhibits included a video recording where Jones's roommate recounted what she had observed to an investigator. What the roommate said was hard to discern at times, and the parties disputed whether she said she heard the victim tell Jones immediately before the incident that " 'I'm a little horny.' " Whether the victim made such a remark would bear on whether she was conscious and gave consent. On appeal, Jones contends that the trial court erred by not providing the jury a version of the video's transcript that contains the line " 'I'm a little horny.' " The trial court correctly informed the jury, however, that the video itself was the *1030evidence, not any transcript purporting to indicate the contents of the video. Therefore, in the unpublished portion of this opinion, we reject Jones's contention and affirm the conviction.

In a supplemental brief relying on People v. Dueñas (2019) 30 Cal.App.5th 1157, 242 Cal.Rptr.3d 268 ( Dueñas ), Jones contends that the trial court's imposition of a $70 fee for "court construction and court operations" as well as a $300 restitution fine violated his right to due process absent a determination of his ability to pay. We hold that Jones has not forfeited this argument despite his failure to raise it in the trial court but affirm the imposition of the fine and fees on the record before us.

I. FACTS

II. DISCUSSION

*192A. The Conviction***

B. Dueñas Error

While this case was pending, another district of this Court of Appeal decided Dueñas , which held that a trial court must "conduct an ability to pay hearing and ascertain a defendant's present ability to pay" before requiring a defendant to pay assessments under Government Code section 70373 and Penal Code section 1465.8 or a restitution fine under Penal Code section 1202.4. ( Dueñas , supra , 30 Cal.App.5th at p. 1164, 242 Cal.Rptr.3d 268.) In a supplemental brief, Jones contends that the trial court's imposition of $70 in fees and a $300 restitution fine without first holding an ability to pay hearing violated his due process rights, which we will call Dueñas error.2 The People do not contend that Dueñas was wrongly decided. Rather, the People first contend that Jones forfeited the claim by failing to raise it below. The People then contend that *1031any Dueñas error was harmless because the record does not establish an inability to pay or any negative consequences that would arise from a failure to pay.

As we explain, although Jones did not object to the fine and fees below, he may raise it for the first time on appeal because an objection prior to Dueñas " 'would have been futile or wholly unsupported by substantive law then in existence.' " ( People v. Brooks (2017) 3 Cal.5th 1, 92, 219 Cal.Rptr.3d 331, 396 P.3d 480.) It is not Jones's burden to establish an inability to pay in this appeal, because the issue was not litigated in trial court. Nevertheless, because Jones will be able to earn the total amount imposed during his sentence of imprisonment, the Dueñas error was harmless.

1. Forfeiture

"Reviewing courts have traditionally excused parties for failing to raise an issue at trial where an objection would have been futile or wholly unsupported by substantive law then in existence." ( People v. Welch (1993) 5 Cal.4th 228, 237, 19 Cal.Rptr.2d 520, 851 P.2d 802.) Forfeiture in this context has also been conceptualized as asking whether " 'the pertinent law later changed so unforeseeably that it is unreasonable to expect trial counsel to have anticipated the change.' " ( People v. Black (2007) 41 Cal.4th 799, 810, 62 Cal.Rptr.3d 569, 161 P.3d 1130 ( Black ).) In determining whether the objection would have been futile, "we consider the 'state of the law as it would have appeared to competent and knowledgeable counsel at the time of the trial.' " ( Id. at p. 811, 62 Cal.Rptr.3d 569, 161 P.3d 1130 ; see also People v. De Santiago (1969) 71 Cal.2d 18, 23, 76 Cal.Rptr. 809, 453 P.2d 353 [inquiry is guided "by practical considerations as to what competent and knowledgeable members of the legal profession should reasonably have concluded the law to be"].)

At the time of Jones's trial and sentencing, controlling case law on point effectively foreclosed any objection that imposing the $300 restitution fine without conducting an ability to pay hearing violated his due process rights.

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People v. Jones, 249 Cal. Rptr. 3d 190, 36 Cal. App. 5th 1028 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

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