People v. Coleman CA2/3, B269140

In 2013 Coleman pled no contest to three felony weapons counts and admitted three prior felony convictions; the court imposed a six-year prison term but suspended execution and granted three years’ formal probation.
The court warned Coleman that any misconduct on probation could result in immediate imprisonment.
In 2015 Coleman was arrested in a separate case for selling cocaine; his probation was summarily revoked and, after a violation hearing, the court executed the previously suspended six-year term.
Coleman appealed the execution of sentence; appointed counsel filed a Wende brief and Coleman submitted a letter arguing two of his prior felonies now qualify as misdemeanors under Proposition 47 and asking for resentencing.
The Court of Appeal affirmed, holding probation revocation allowed execution of the prior suspended sentence and Proposition 47 did not entitle Coleman to an automatic reduction of prior enhancements.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Coleman’s six-year suspended sentence could be reduced after probation revocation	People: Court properly executed the previously imposed suspended sentence upon probation violation	Coleman: Some prior felonies now misdemeanors under Prop 47, so sentence should be reduced	Court: Revocation eliminated discretion to impose a lesser term; execution of the original sentence was proper
Whether Proposition 47 applies retroactively to invalidate prior conviction enhancements imposed before Prop 47	People: Prop 47 is not retroactive to invalidate sentence enhancements already imposed	Coleman: Prop 47 reclassifies certain felonies as misdemeanors and should affect enhancements	Court: Prop 47 is not retroactive to invalidate prior enhancements imposed before its effective date
Whether Proposition 47 provides automatic reclassification or requires a petition	People: Prop 47 creates a postconviction procedure; relief is not self-executing	Coleman: Relief should apply without further procedure	Court: Relief is not automatic; defendant must petition under § 1170.18 in the court that entered conviction
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to pursue Prop 47 relief earlier	People: Record does not show deficient performance or prejudice	Coleman: Counsel should have filed Prop 47 petitions for prior convictions	Court: Record insufficient to evaluate ineffective assistance claim on direct appeal; cannot resolve without more facts

People v. Howard, 16 Cal.4th 1081 (court may execute previously imposed suspended sentence after probation revocation)
People v. Feyrer, 48 Cal.4th 426 (reduction to misdemeanor "for all purposes" does not apply retroactively)
People v. Conley, 63 Cal.4th 646 (postconviction reductions are not automatic; statutory procedure governs)
Smith v. Robbins, 528 U.S. 259 (standards for counsel appointment and appellate review in Anders/Wende contexts)
People v. Jones, 1 Cal.App.5th 221 (Prop 47 does not retroactively reduce priors imposed before its effective date)