People v. Rutledge

139 Cal. App. 3d 620, 188 Cal. Rptr. 846, 1983 Cal. App. LEXIS 1358
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 31, 1983
DocketCrim. 5954
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 139 Cal. App. 3d 620 (People v. Rutledge) 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. Rutledge, 139 Cal. App. 3d 620, 188 Cal. Rptr. 846, 1983 Cal. App. LEXIS 1358 (Cal. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

*622 Opinion

FRANSON, Acting P. J.

Background

Appellant was convicted in April 1977 of selling heroin on October 12, 1976. Criminal proceedings were thereafter suspended, and on June 10, 1977, appellant was committed to the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) as a narcotic addict.

Appellant was released from CRC on outpatient status on December 4, 1977, but was returned to CRC on April 2, 1980. Appellant was again released on outpatient status on November 4, 1980.

On March 19, 1981, pursuant to a condition of appellant’s CRC outpatient status, a search of appellant’s residence was conducted and narcotic paraphernalia were found. Appellant was jailed, and on April 29, 1981, he was sentenced to county jail for possession of narcotic paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

On August 14, 1981, the superior court terminated appellant’s CRC commitment in the present action and reinstated criminal proceedings for the purpose of sentencing. Appellant was sentenced to 4 years in state prison with 469 days of preprison custody credit plus an additional 249 days conduct credit. Appellant was disallowed any credit for CRC outpatient time. He has appealed.

Discussion

The primary question is whether appellant is entitled to CRC outpatient credit. Appellant relies on former Penal Code section 1203.03, subdivision (g) (at one time lettered as subd. (f)), 1 which authorized outpatient credit to those persons committed to CRC and subsequently sentenced to prison in the same case, to argue that the denial of such credit violates the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws. We accept appellant’s contention.

*623 The California Supreme Court recently reiterated the basic principles involved in ex post facto analysis of a legislative alteration of criminal punishment: “States are prohibited from adopting ex post facto laws under the Constitutions of both the United States (art. I, § 10, cl. 1), and the State of California (art. I, § 9). The federal Constitution similarly constrains the United States Congress. (Art. I, § 9, cl. 3.) In a very early case (Calder v. Bull (1798) 3 U.S. (3 Dali.) 386 . . .), Justice Chase, in the following manner, described those laws which were considered ex post facto: ‘. . . Every law that changes the punishment, and inflicts a greater punishment, than the law annexed to the crime, when committed. ’ (P. 390 . . . .) Thus, from its earliest interpretation, the ex post facto clause has barred imposition of a punishment which, after commission of the crime, was increased or made more burdensome. ” (In re Stanworth (1982) 33 Cal.3d 176, 180 [187 Cal.Rptr. 783, 654 P.2d 1311], italics added.)

In Stanworth the trial court had granted habeas corpus relief to the defendant who had been sentenced to life imprisonment under the Indeterminate Sentence Law (ISL) and the administrative guidelines in effect at the time he was sentenced but whose parole date was fixed on the basis of the Determinate Sentencing Act (DSL) and its implementing regulations. Under the new regulations, defendant’s postconviction behavior was not utilized in the same manner in determining his parole release date as under the earlier regulations. The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed, holding that under the ex post facto clauses of the state and federal Constitutions defendant was entitled to parole release consideration under both ISL and the administrative guidelines in effect at the time he was sentenced and DSL and its implementing regulations. Since application of the new guidelines, which reflected basic legislative alterations in the underlying parole scheme, could have resulted in a different award of postconviction credit than provided under the former standards, the standard of punishment was altered to defendant’s prejudice in violation of ex post facto principles.

Stanworth notes at page 180 that the United States Supreme Court in Weaver v. Graham (1981) 450 U.S. 24 [67 L.Ed.2d 17, 101 S.Ct. 960], analyzed the federal ex post facto clause within the context of a statute which altered the availability of “gain time for good conduct.” The Florida courts had denied Weaver habeas corpus relief on the ground that the allowance of such time “ ‘is an act of grace rather than a vested right and may be withdrawn, modified, or denied.’” (Id., at p. 28 [67 L.Ed.2d at p. 22, 101 S.Ct. at p. 963], quoting Harris v. Wainwright (Fla. 1979) 376 So.2d 855, 856.) The high court corrected that interpretation observing that “our decisions prescribe that two critical elements must be present for a criminal or penal law to be ex post facto: it must be retrospective, that is, it must apply to events occurring before its enactment, and it must disadvantage the offender affected by it. [Citations.] *624 Contrary to the reasoning of the Supreme Court of Florida, a law need not impair a ‘vested right’ to violate the ex post facto prohibition.” (Id., at p. 29 [67 L.Ed.2d at p. 23, 101 S.Ct. at p. 964], fns. omitted.) Weaver held that it was unnecessary to decide whether the prospect of gain time was technically part of the inmate’s sentence in order “to conclude that it in fact is one determinant of petitioner’s prison term—and that his effective sentence is altered once this determinant is changed.” (Id., at p. 32 [67 L.Ed. at p. 25, 101 S.Ct. at p. 966].)

Stanworth observes that Weaver “quickly disposes” of the People’s claim that because no parole date had been set before the change in guidelines that defendant had no vested right to which the bar against ex post facto law attached. (In re Stanworth, supra, 33 Cal.3d 176 at p. 180.) Quoting from Weaver: “The presence or absence of an affirmative, enforceable right is not relevant, . . . Critical to relief under the Ex Post Facto Clause is not an individual’s right to less punishment, but the lack of.fair notice and governmental restraint when the legislature increases punishment beyond what was prescribed when the crime was consummated.” (450 U.S. at p. 30 [67 L.Ed. at p. 24, 101 S.Ct. at p. 965].) In brief, the “critical question is whether the law changes the legal consequences of acts completed before its effective date.” (Id., at p. 31 [67 L.Ed.2d at p. 24, 101 S.Ct. at p. 965.) “The tenor of Weaver seems unmistakable: prejudicial changes in punishment enacted after commission of a crime are suspect on ex post facto grounds. ” (In re Stanworth, supra, at p. 181.)

We glean one overriding rule from Stanworth and Weaver: for ex post facto purposes we compare the sentencing scheme in existence at the time the crime is committed with the sentencing scheme in existence at the time of sentencing.

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Bluebook (online)
139 Cal. App. 3d 620, 188 Cal. Rptr. 846, 1983 Cal. App. LEXIS 1358, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-rutledge-calctapp-1983.