People v. Romanowski

391 P.3d 633, 215 Cal. Rptr. 3d 758, 2 Cal. 5th 903, 2017 WL 1131882, 2017 Cal. LEXIS 2326
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 27, 2017
DocketS231405
StatusPublished
Cited by138 cases

This text of 391 P.3d 633 (People v. Romanowski) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Romanowski, 391 P.3d 633, 215 Cal. Rptr. 3d 758, 2 Cal. 5th 903, 2017 WL 1131882, 2017 Cal. LEXIS 2326 (Cal. 2017).

Opinion

Cuéllar, J.

*905 When California voters approved Proposition 47, they enacted statutory provisions with the purpose of reducing punishment for a broad range of crimes previously classified as felonies. What this case requires us to decide is whether theft of access card account information-an *906 offense that includes theft of credit and debit card information-is one of the crimes eligible for reduced punishment. We hold that it is. Although theft of access card information differs in some ways from other forms of theft, Proposition 47 broadly reduced punishment for "obtaining any property by theft" where the value of the stolen information is less than $950. (Penal Code, § 490.2, subd. (a).) 1 And while Proposition 47 does not specify a particular valuation test for this $950 threshold, the Penal Code section that defines theft says that "the reasonable and fair market value shall be the test" for determining the value of stolen property. (§ 484, subd. (a).) What we hold in light of this provision and Proposition 47 is that section 490.2's value threshold must be applied using this "reasonable and fair market value" test. Moreover, courts may consider **635 evidence related to the possibility of illicit sales when determining the market value of stolen access card information. We therefore affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

I.

On September 29, 2014, Daniel Romanowski pleaded no contest to a felony violation of section 484e, subdivision (d). The trial court sentenced Romanowski to four years in county jail. About a month later, the voters approved Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, which reduced the punishment for several crimes that were previously punished as *761 felonies. These reductions were directed both at future offenders and those "currently serving a sentence for a conviction." (§ 1170.18, subd. (a).) For the latter group, anyone who "would have been guilty of a misdemeanor ... had [Proposition 47] been in effect at the time of the offense" is allowed to "petition for a recall of sentence before the trial court that entered the judgment of conviction in his or her case to request resentencing in accordance with" Proposition 47's reductions. ( Ibid. )

Romanowski filed a resentencing petition on March 10, 2015. The Superior Court denied the petition, ruling that Proposition 47 does not apply to theft of access card information. The Court of Appeal reversed this ruling. The court explained that "by its plain terms, section 490.2, subdivision (a) reduces a violation of section 484e, subdivision (d) to a misdemeanor if it involves property valued at less than $950." The court thus remanded the case for a determination of "whether the value of the property involved in appellant's conviction pursuant to section 484(e), subdivision (d) did not exceed $950." The court did not specify how this determination should be made, though the opinion mentioned the example of a defendant "selling stolen access card information in a black market" in an earlier discussion of "the inquiry into *907 the value ... of the access card information." We granted review to determine whether section 490.2 applies to theft of access card account information.

II.

The core question raised by this case depends on the interplay of two separate statutory schemes-one enacted by the Legislature, and one by the public. The first statutory scheme is the one Romanowski was convicted of violating: Penal Code section 484e, subdivision (d). This subdivision says: "Every person who acquires or retains possession of access card account information with respect to an access card validly issued to another person, without the cardholder's or issuer's consent, with the intent to use it fraudulently, is guilty of grand theft." (§ 484e, subd. (d).)

The other statutory scheme at issue here reflects Penal Code provisions enacted by voters through Proposition 47, which downgraded several crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. One of Proposition 47's purposes was to reduce the number of prisoners serving sentences for nonviolent crimes, both to save money and to shift prison spending toward more serious offenses. (See Harris v. Superior Court (2016) 1 Cal.5th 984 , 992, 209 Cal.Rptr.3d 584 , 383 P.3d 648 ["One of Proposition 47's primary purposes is to reduce the number of nonviolent offenders in state prisons, thereby saving money and focusing prison on offenders considered more serious under the terms of the initiative."].) The provision of Proposition 47 reducing punishment for theft crimes provides: "Notwithstanding Section 487 or any other provision of law defining grand theft, obtaining any property by theft where the value of the money, labor, real or personal property taken does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) shall be considered petty theft and shall be punished as a misdemeanor." (§ 490.2, subd. (a).) Section 487 lists four types of grand theft. First, subdivision (a) makes it grand theft to steal any "money, labor, or real or personal property ... of a value exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950)." Next, subdivision (b) sets a $250 threshold for theft of "domestic fowls, avocados, olives, citrus or deciduous fruits, other fruits, vegetables, nuts, artichokes, or other farm crops" as well as of "fish, shellfish, mollusks, crustaceans, kelp, algae, or other aquacultural products ...

*762 from a commercial or research operation **636 which is producing that product." After that, subdivision (c) makes it grand theft to steal property "from the person of another," and subdivision (d) makes it grand theft to steal either an "automobile" or a "firearm." In sum, section 487 makes it grand theft to steal: more than $950 worth of anything; more than $250 worth of the crops or critters listed in subdivision (b); anything at all from the victim's person; or any cars or guns. *908 What section 490.2 indicates is that after the passage of Proposition 47, "obtaining any property by theft" constitutes petty theft if the stolen property is worth less than $950. 2 Of course, section 487, subdivision (a), already made it grand theft to steal property worth over $950.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Johnson CA3
California Court of Appeal, 2024
First Amendment Coalition v. Super. Ct.
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Owens CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Portillo
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Johnson CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Singleton CA4/2
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Sekerke CA4/1
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Stoecker CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Wright CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Soto CA6
California Court of Appeal, 2021
Cheng v. Coastal L.B. Associates, LLC
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Raybon
California Supreme Court, 2021
People v. James CA2/3
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Ashanti CA2/1
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Dantignac CA2/7
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. White CA4/3
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Woodson CA3
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Amaya CA4/2
California Court of Appeal, 2020
People v. Kruckenberg CA3
California Court of Appeal, 2020
People v. Grant
California Court of Appeal, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
391 P.3d 633, 215 Cal. Rptr. 3d 758, 2 Cal. 5th 903, 2017 WL 1131882, 2017 Cal. LEXIS 2326, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-romanowski-cal-2017.