People v. White

133 Cal. App. 3d 677, 184 Cal. Rptr. 134, 1982 Cal. App. LEXIS 1748
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 8, 1982
DocketCrim. 39674
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 133 Cal. App. 3d 677 (People v. White) 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. White, 133 Cal. App. 3d 677, 184 Cal. Rptr. 134, 1982 Cal. App. LEXIS 1748 (Cal. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

Opinion

FEINERMAN, P. J.

Defendant, Lawrence Modia White, appeals from judgments in two cases sentencing him to consecutive terms in state prison and county jail after revocation of probation in each of the cases. He contends (1) that the trial court improperly considered defendant’s postprobationary activities in sentencing him after revocation of probation; and (2) that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to revoke his probation in one of the cases.

We have reviewed the entire record and find no merit in defendant’s contentions. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments imposing sentence.

Background

Case No. A-335946

Defendant pled guilty to receiving stolen property (Pen. Code, § 496) on March 15, 1978. On July 27, 1978, proceedings were suspended and defendant was placed on formal probation for a period of three years on condition, among others, that he spend the first year in the county jail.

Case No. A-6I3511

Charged with felony wife beating (Pen. Code, § 273d) and assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 245, *680 subd. (a)), defendant pled guilty to the lesser included offense of battery (Pen. Code, § 242), a misdemeanor, on August 7, 1978. On September 5, 1978, proceedings were suspended and defendant was placed on informal probation for a period of two years on condition, among others, that he spend the first 90 days of his probationary period in the county jail. The trial court ordered the sentence to “run consecutively to time currently being served.”

Probation Revocation Proceedings

As a result of a conviction of misdemeanor battery (Pen. Code, § 242) against his wife in 1979 and a failure to report to his probation officer in September and October 1980, defendant’s probation was revoked in both case number A-335946 and case number 613511.

On January 19, 1981, defendant was found to be in violation of probation as to both cases. On January 27, 1981, defendant was sentenced to state prison for the term prescribed by law in case number A-335946, with credit for time served, good time and work time. The sentence was ordered to run consecutively to the sentence ordered in case number A-613511. Defendant was sentenced to the Los Angeles County Jail for one year in case number A-613511 with credit for time served, good time and work time.

Did the trial court improperly consider defendant’s postprobationary activities in sentencing him?

Defendant contends that the trial court impermissibly considered events occurring after probation was granted on both cases in 1978 in sentencing him to consecutive terms in state prison and county jail. He singles out the trial court’s alleged reliance on his 1979 battery conviction in revoking probation and concludes that this action violates rule 435(b)(1) of the California Rules of Court, which provides in relevant part: “The length of the sentence shall be based on circumstances existing at the time probation was granted, and subsequent events may not be considered in selecting the base term nor in deciding whether to strike or specifically not order the additional punishment for enhancements charged and found.” Defendant also asserts that the holding in People v. Angus (1980) 114 Cal.App.3d 973, 989 [171 Cal.Rptr. 5] is supportive of his position that the trial court improperly considered his postprobation activities.

*681 At the outset we should note that in case number A-335946 we are dealing with a sentence to state prison imposed under the indeterminate sentence law in force at the time of the original sentencing. The actual length of time to be spent in custody was not and could not be set by the trial judge at the time of sentencing. In case number A-613511 we are dealing with a suspended sentence for a misdemeanor where the maximum time that could be imposed was one year in the county jail.

It is fundamental that upon revocation of probation the trial court was empowered to “pronounce judgment for any time within the longest period for which the person might have been sentenced” where, as in the case at bench, imposition of sentence had been initially suspended. (Pen. Code, § 1203.2, subd. (c).) It is also manifest that “[w]hen imposition of sentence has been suspended, and the defendant placed on probation, the termination of probation requires that the court impose sentence on the original offense.” (People v. Billetts (1979) 89 Cal. App.3d 302, 309 [152 Cal.Rptr. 402].) In People v. Angus, the court made clear that punishment for the acts which constituted the probation violation must be reserved for the new proceedings. It rejected the argument that revocation was improper ‘“unless the sentence imposed was appropriate as a punishment for the acts which constituted the probation violation.’” (People v. Angus, supra, 114 Cal.App.3d 973, 989.)

Defendant’s contentions are a tortured construction of these rules. Obviously, a court must consider postprobation events to determine whether or not there has been a violation of probation and, if probation has been revoked, whether the defendant should be reinstated on probation or incarcerated. Penal Code section 1203.2, subdivision (a) specifically provides that “. . . the court may revoke and terminate such probation if the interests of justice so require and the court, in its judgment, has reason to believe from the report of the probation officer or otherwise that the person has violated any of the conditions of his probation, has become abandoned to improper associates or a vicious life, or has subsequently committed other offenses, regardless whether he has been prosecuted for such offenses. . .. ”

California Rules of Court, rule 435(b)(1) has no application to the decision making process delimiting the initial inquiry—namely whether or not to incarcerate the defendant or reinstate him to probation. That rule merely states that events subsequent to the original grant of probation cannot be considered in determining the length of the sentence *682 under the Determinative Sentencing Act. That choice must be based solely on the circumstances existent at the time probation was granted.

In the instant case defendant’s postprobation activities had no influence on the length of the state prison term imposed by the court in case number A-335946 because, as an indeterminate sentence, the actual length of time to be spent in custody was not set by the court at the time of sentence. As to case number A-613511, there is nothing in the record indicating that the sentence imposed was the result of any improper consideration of postprobation events. In the absence of such a record, it must be presumed that the trial court acted properly in sentencing defendant to time within the longest period to which he could be sentenced. (Pen. Code, § 1203.2, subd. (c).)

Similarly, there is no indication in the record that the court handling the probation violation hearings imposed consecutive sentences on the defendant because of his postprobation conduct.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
133 Cal. App. 3d 677, 184 Cal. Rptr. 134, 1982 Cal. App. LEXIS 1748, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-white-calctapp-1982.