239 Cal.App.4th 24
Cal. Ct. App.2015Background
- Jesse David Perez was released on his own recognizance (OR) pending a 2012 felony drug charge; he willfully failed to appear (FTA) and was convicted of the drug offense and felony FTA, and admitted a strike.
- Perez pleaded no contest in July 2013; his direct appeal was voluntarily dismissed and remittitur issued January 10, 2014. His convictions were final before Proposition 47 passed.
- Proposition 47 (Nov. 4, 2014) reclassified certain drug felonies as misdemeanors and created a recall/resentencing procedure (§ 1170.18). Perez petitioned under the Act to have his drug conviction redesignated and sought reduction of the related FTA from a felony to a misdemeanor.
- The trial court reduced the drug conviction to a misdemeanor under the Act but declined to reduce the FTA; it resentenced Perez on the felony FTA and imposed the doubled term for the strike. Perez appealed.
- The core legal question: whether reducing the underlying drug conviction to a misdemeanor "for all purposes" under the Act also converts the previously adjudicated felony FTA to a misdemeanor.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether a felony FTA tied to an underlying offense that is later redesignated a misdemeanor under Prop. 47 must be reduced to a misdemeanor | The People argued the FTA remains a felony because its classification depends on the status at the time of the FTA and statutory scheme; the Act does not apply to ancillary offenses | Perez argued §1170.18(k) makes the resentenced conviction a misdemeanor "for all purposes," so the FTA tied to that conviction must be reduced to a misdemeanor | The court held the FTA remains a felony: the FTA’s severity is determined by the underlying charge at the time of the failure to appear, and Prop. 47 does not retroactively change ancillary offenses like FTA |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Walker, 29 Cal.4th 577 (Sup. Ct. 2002) (statutes deterring bail-jumping apply regardless of ultimate disposition of the underlying charge)
- People v. Rivera, 233 Cal.App.4th 1085 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015) (language making felonies misdemeanors under Prop. 47 does not apply retroactively to collateral matters)
- In re Watford, 186 Cal.App.4th 684 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010) (offense-based duties are measured by status at the time of the conduct; later invalidation of predicate does not erase liability)
- In re Smiley, 66 Cal.2d 606 (Cal. 1967) (OR release creates a contractual duty to appear; willful FTA is an independent crime)
- In re Estrada, 63 Cal.2d 740 (Cal. 1965) (rules on finality and retroactivity of ameliorative criminal laws)