People v. Sledge

7 Cal. App. 5th 1089, 213 Cal. Rptr. 3d 265, 2017 WL 361096, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 52
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 25, 2017
DocketG052780
StatusPublished
Cited by63 cases

This text of 7 Cal. App. 5th 1089 (People v. Sledge) 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. Sledge, 7 Cal. App. 5th 1089, 213 Cal. Rptr. 3d 265, 2017 WL 361096, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 52 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

Opinion

THOMPSON, J.

Defendant Derrick Lee Sledge appeals from an order denying his petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.18 (all further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise noted), one of the statutes that was enacted in 2014 as part of the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act (Proposition 47).

Subdivision (i) of section 1170.18 (section 1170.18(1)) states: “The provisions of this section shall not apply to persons who have one or more prior *1092 convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290.”

The court found defendant suffered a 1980 felony forcible rape juvenile adjudication and ruled it was a disqualifying prior conviction under section 1170.18(i).

We conclude (1) substantial evidence supports the court’s historical factual finding that defendant suffered the felony forcible rape juvenile adjudication; (2) some felony juvenile adjudications are disqualifying “prior convictions” for purposes of section 1170.18(i); and (3) defendant’s felony forcible rape juvenile adjudication is a disqualifying prior conviction under section 1170.18(i). Accordingly, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 1998, defendant went into a bank and attempted to cash a check for $453.12 drawn on the account of Sara Delgadillo. Ms. Delgadillo had not signed the check or given defendant permission to cash it. The bank teller learned the checking account had been flagged, and the branch manager called the police. Defendant told police he had received the check from a man for whom he had performed some work.

A jury convicted defendant of possession of a fictitious instrument (§ 476), check forgery (§ 470, subd. (a)), and second degree burglary (§§ 459, 460, subd. (b)). The court found defendant had three prior serious or violent convichons and sentenced him to 25 years to life under the “Three Strikes” law. That judgment was affirmed on direct appeal. (People v. Sledge (Feb. 27, 2001, D036483) [nonpub. opn.] (Sledge I).)

After the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 (Proposition 36) passed, defendant petitioned to recall his third strike sentence and for resentencing as a second strike offender. The trial court denied his Proposition 36 petition on the grounds he posed an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety and we affirmed. (People v. Sledge (2015) 235 Cal.App.4th 1191 [186 Cal.Rptr.3d 9], review granted July 8, 2015, S226449 (Sledge II).)

After Proposition 47 passed, defendant, acting in propria persona, filed a petition to recall his third strike sentence and for resentencing as a misdemeanor offender. Defendant’s Proposition 47 petition asserted he was eligible for resentencing under section 1170.18, subdivisions (a) and (b).

Defendant’s counsel then filed a supplemental petition to recall his third strike sentence and for resentencing as a misdemeanor offender under section *1093 1170.18. The supplemental Proposition 47 petition specifically asserted defendant had no prior convictions for any of the disqualifying offenses listed in section 1170.18(i).

The People’s written opposition stated defendant had suffered a 1980 felony forcible rape (former § 261, subd. (2)) 1 juvenile adjudication, and argued it was a disqualifying prior conviction under section 1170.18(i). Defendant’s written reply argued the felony forcible rape juvenile adjudication was not a “conviction” at all, and it was not a “prior conviction” for purposes of section 1170.18(i).

The court conducted an eligibility hearing on the Proposition 47 petitions. At the People’s request and over defendant’s objections, the court took judicial notice of the entire superior court file and admitted several documents from it into evidence, including a 1999 supplemental presentence report (probation report) prepared by the probation department for the original sentencing hearing in this case.

According to the probation report:

“Los Angeles County Juvenile Probation Records on the defendant have been purged. Through investigation and contact with the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court Presiding Judge’s Office and the Court Clerk’s Office in the Eastside Juvenile Court, it was learned that juvenile court records are maintained until the defendant reaches the age of 38.
“The defendant’s Juvenile Court record has been obtained. Los Angeles Juvenile Court Records (#J81771) reveal that a Petition was initially filed on the defendant on May 7, 1979 for violation of 484(a) PC [misdemeanor petty theft]. Subsequently, on May 11, 1979, a Placement order was obtained. On June 11, 1980, a Petition was filed under Section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code charging the defendant with violation of Section 261(2) PC, a felony. This matter was heard on July 14, 1980, and the Petition was found to be true and sustained as a felony. This has been verified by court docket. According to telephone contact with the Clerk’s Office, on August 4, 1980, a Placement order was continued and it was recommended that the defendant be placed in the Dorothy Kirby facility.” (Italics added.)
“A copy of the Probation Officer’s report prepared in the latter case was obtained through the Juvenile Court. The following information is from that *1094 report, dated July 28, 1980. Regarding the circumstances of the offence, victim . . . contacted the Long Beach Police Department on June 9, 1980, and accused the defendant, 17 years of age at the time, of forcibly raping her. She told police that she had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room and was awakened by a hand around her neck. She awoke to see the [defendant], who covered her mouth and then pulled up her dress. He penetrated her vagina and forced intercourse upon her for two to three minutes. Following the rape he went to his bedroom and closed the door. She went to her own room because she was frightened and after he left for school in the morning, she contacted the police. [¶] . . . [¶]
“When the defendant was interviewed in 1980 by the Probation Department regarding the rape, he adamantly maintained that he did not forcibly rape the victim. He claimed she had been drinking and smoking phencyclidine the night before with a boyfriend. He had fallen asleep on the floor and she woke him up, standing nude before him. She invited him to have sexual intercourse and he complied. He then went back to sleep and she returned to her own room. When he returned from school, the police arrived and arrested him for rape. When questioned regarding the bruises on the victim’s arm, he speculated that she had possibly obtained them when her 18-year-old son had previously grabbed her the prior Saturday.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
7 Cal. App. 5th 1089, 213 Cal. Rptr. 3d 265, 2017 WL 361096, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 52, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-sledge-calctapp-2017.