People v. AlanisPeople v. Alanis
Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Martin S. Kaye, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Christopher W. Grove, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent The People.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Defendant Efrain Guido Alanis appeals from a judgment entered after a bench trial, in which the court found him guilty of possessing more than 28.5 grams of methamphetamine and cocaine for sale and being a felon in possession of a firearm and further found that he possessed a firearm at the time he possessed the drugs. (
On appeal from the judgment, defendant asks this court to review the sealed transcript of an in camera hearing and the sealed portion of a search warrant affidavit and determine whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to unseal the affidavit, suppress evidence, and disclose the identity of a confidential informant.
We conclude that the judgment is void and reverse it.
THE OFFENSES
On March 30, 2005, undercover police agents arranged to meet defendant at a gas station in Watsonville to buy a pound of methamphetamine and a half kilo of cocaine. When they met, defendant said he had the drugs at his house and did not want to make the sale and exchange at the station. Defendant was immediately arrested. Thereafter, police, armed with a search warrant, went to defendant‘s house. Under the front seat of a van parked in the car port, they found 442.3 grams of cocaine and 289.8 grams of methamphetamine. In a nearby shed, they found two unloaded firearms and ammunition for them.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND1
On March 14, 2005, defendant was charged by information with the various possessory offenses. On July 12, 2005, defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence. He requested that the court conduct an in camera hearing to review the sealed portion of the affidavit supporting the search warrant and determine whether it should be unsealed and disclosed to the defense. (See
On the same day, defendant also filed a motion for pretrial discovery, seeking, among other things, all information concerning the reports that triggered the investigation in his case.
On July 29, 2005, the court reviewed the sealed material in camera and denied defendant‘s motions.
On December 28, 2005, defendant filed a motion to disclose the identity of the confidential informant, arguing that the informant was a material witness whose nondisclosure would deprive him of a fair trial. On March 24, 2006, the court denied that motion.2
On July 28, 2006, defendant agreed to plead guilty to the charges and admit the weapon enhancement in exchange for a stipulated sentence of five years and four months. Apparently, one condition of defendant‘s plea was that he would be allowed to challenge the denial of his preplea discovery motions. On October 6, 2006, after accepting the plea, the court imposed the agreed-upon sentence and entered judgment.
On October 17, 2006, defendant filed a notice of appeal from the judgment (H030771) and applied to the trial court for a certificate of probable cause to challenge the denial of his discovery motions. (
Some time later, the court and parties determined that, contrary to the terms of the plea bargain, defendant‘s discovery claims might not be cognizable on appeal from a judgment because he had pleaded guilty.3 For that reason, on November 28, 2006, the court, with the agreement of the prosecutor, recalled the sentence to permit defendant to withdraw his guilty plea and then submit to a court trial based on documentary evidence. (
On January 2, 2007, defendant filed a notice of appeal from the new judgment (H031059). As noted, he challenges the trial court‘s rulings on his discovery motions. On January 24, 2007, defendant formally abandoned his previous appeal in H030771, and on January 25, 2007, this court dismissed it.
The Judgment is Void
“The filing of a valid notice of appeal vests jurisdiction of the cause in the appellate court until determination of the appeal arid issuance of the remittitur.” (People v. Perez (1979) 23 Cal.3d 545, 554, 153 Cal.Rptr. 40, 591 P.2d 63; People v. Cunningham (2001) 25 Cal.4th 926, 1044, 108 Cal.Rptr.2d 291, 25 P.3d 519 [“‘an appeal from an order in a criminal case removes the subject matter of that order from the jurisdiction of the trial court‘“]; see People v. Murphy (1969) 70 Cal.2d 109, 116, 74 Cal.Rptr. 65, 448 P.2d 945 [an appeal stays all further proceedings in the trial court upon the order or judgment appealed from and matters embraced therein].) The purpose of the rule depriving the trial court of jurisdiction pending appeal “‘is to protect the appellate court‘s jurisdiction by preserving the status quo until the appeal is decided. The rule prevents the trial. court from rendering an appeal futile by altering the appealed judgment ... by conducting other proceedings that may affect it.’ [Citation.]” (Townsel v. Superior Court (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1084, 1089, 86 Cal.Rptr.2d 602, 979 P.2d 963.)
Because an appeal divests the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction, the court lacks jurisdiction to vacate the judgment or make any order affecting it. (In re Johannes (1931) 213 Cal. 125, 129-130, 1 P.2d 984; People v. Johnson (1992) 3 Cal.4th 1183, 1257, 14 Cal.Rptr.2d 702, 842 P.2d 1; People v. Flores (2003) 30 Cal.4th 1059, 1064, 135 Cal.Rptr.2d 63, 69 P.3d 979.) Thus, action by the trial court while an appeal is pending is null and void. (Varian Medical Systems, Inc. v. Delfino (2005) 35 Cal.4th 180, 197, 25 Cal. Rptr.3d 298, 106 P.3d 958; e.g., People v. Sonoqui (1934) 1 Cal.2d 364, 367, 35 P.2d 123 [reversing a judgment of conviction because the trial occurred before the remittitur issued]; People v. Mayne (1897) 118 Cal. 516, 522, 50 P. 654 [appeal from order denying a new trial removed court‘s jurisdiction to change that order].) Indeed, “[s]o complete is this loss of jurisdiction effected by the appeal that even the consent of the parties has been held ineffective to reinvest the trial court with jurisdiction over the subject matter of the appeal and that an order based upon such consent would be a nullity.” (In re Lukasik (1951) 108 Cal.App.2d 438, 443, 239 P.2d 492.)
Here, the order recalling defendant‘s sentence, the withdrawal of defendant‘s plea, the court trial, the subsequent judgment, and defendant‘s second notice of appeal all occurred while defendant‘s initial appeal was pending and well before he abandoned it. (See Cal. Rules of Ct., rule 8.244(b) [abandonment restores jurisdiction to the trial court].) Although the parties and court agreed to those proceedings, their agreement could not re-confer subject matter jurisdiction on the trial court to recall the sentence or take further actions on the case. (In re Johannes, supra, 213 Cal. at p. 131, 1 P.2d 984 [parties cannot confer subject matter jurisdiction by consent]; accord, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. v. Delfino, supra, 35 Cal.4th at p. 199, fn. 10, 25 Cal.Rptr.3d 298, 106 P.3d 958.) Thus, unless the trial court‘s further actions fell within an exception to
One exception is that, notwithstanding the pendency of an appeal, “[t]he trial court is allowed to vacate a void—but not voidable—judgment.” (People v. Malveaux (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 1425, 1434, 59 Cal.Rptr.2d 371; e.g., People v. Chagolla (1983) 144 Cal.App.3d 422, 434, 193 Cal. Rptr. 711 [unauthorized sentence renders judgment thereon void and correctable at anytime, even during the pendency of appeal].) However, “[a] judgment is void rather than voidable only if the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. [Citation.]” (People v. Malveaux, supra, 50 Cal.App.4th at p. 1434, 59 Cal.Rptr.2d 371, italics added.) Here, the trial court obviously had subject matter jurisdiction over defendant‘s criminal prosecution, and therefore the initial judgment was not void on its face.
Another exception is based on the court‘s inherent power “‘to correct clerical errors in its records so as to make these records reflect the true facts. [Citations.] The power exists independently of statute and may be exercised in criminal as well as in civil cases. [Citation.] The power is unaffected by the pendency of an appeal or a habeas corpus proceeding. [Citation.] The court may correct such errors on its own motion or upon the application of the parties.’ [Citation.] Courts may correct clerical errors at any time, and appellate courts (including this one) that have properly assumed jurisdiction of cases have ordered correction of abstracts of judgment that did not accurately reflect the oral judgments of sentencing courts. [Citations.]” (People v. Mitchell (2001) 26 Cal.4th 181, 185, 109 Cal.Rptr.2d 303, 26 P.3d 1040; People v. Johnson, supra, 3 Cal.4th at p. 1257, 14 Cal.Rptr.2d 702, 842 P.2d 1 [trial court “retains certain powers over the parties and incidental aspects of the cause, such as procedural steps in connection with preparation and correction of the record“]; People v. Schulz (1992) 5 Cal.App.4th 563, 570, 7 Cal.Rptr.2d 269 [court retains jurisdiction to address matters that are “collateral or supplemental to the questions involved on the appeal“]; of
“Changes which correct errors, mistakes and omissions made through inadvertence, but do not involve the exercise of the judicial function, are considered corrections of clerical errors that leave the original judgment intact.” (Stone v. Regents of University of California (1999) 77 Cal. App.4th 736, 744, 92 Cal.Rptr.2d 94; see In re Candelario (1970) 3 Cal.3d 702, 705, 91 Cal.Rptr. 497, 477 P.2d 729 [“The distinction between clerical error and judicial error is Svhether the error was made in rendering the judgment, or in recording the judgment rendered‘“].)
Here, the court did not simply correct a clerical error or address a matter incidental, collateral, or supplemental to the appeal. Nor did it leave the judgment intact. Rather, it recalled the sentence to allow defendant to withdraw his plea. It then conducted a bench trial, found defendant guilty, resentenced him, and entered a new judgment. By this set of actions, the court, in effect, tried to vacate its initial judgment and enter second judgment while an appeal from the first judgment was pending.
The trial court purported to act under the authority of
In Portillo v. Superior Court (1992) 10 Cal.App.4th 1829, 13 Cal.Rptr.2d 709, the court held that
However, the exception provided by
In Pritchett, the defendant did not appeal from the judgment; and after the time for doing so had expired, he asked the trial court to recall his sentence and reduce his sentence or reimpose the same sentence so that he could appeal from the denial of his request and have his sentence reviewed. The trial court recalled the sentence but declined to reduce the term. However, with the consent of the prosecutor, the court reimposed the same sentence. The defendant then appealed. (Pritchett, supra, 20 Cal.App.4th at pp. 192-193, 24 Cal.Rptr.2d 391.)
Here, too, the court did not recall the sentence for any reason rationally related to sentencing. Rather, the court recalled the sentence and then reimposed the same sentence solely to allow defendant to withdraw his plea, enter a slow plea, and obtain a second judgment from which he could appeal and raise his discovery issues. However, just as
Under the circumstances, therefore, the record establishes the trial court lacked jurisdiction to (1) recall defendant‘s sentence to permit him to withdraw his plea, (2) conduct a court trial, and (3) enter a new judgment. Accordingly, those actions and the resulting judgment are nullities and void.
This does not mean that this court lacks jurisdiction over the instant appeal. An appeal from a void judgment is not the same as an appeal from a nonappealable order, in which case the appeal must be dismissed. (See, e.g., In re Mario C. (2004) 124 Cal.App.4th 1303, 1307, 21 Cal.Rptr.3d 891 [“a reviewing court is ‘without jurisdiction to consider an appeal from a nonappealable order, and has the duty to dismiss such an appeal upon its own motion‘“]; Art Movers, Inc. v. Ni West, Inc. (1992) 3 Cal.App.4th 640, 645, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 689; In re Marriage of Loya (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 1636, 1638, 235 Cal. Rptr. 198; Adohr Milk Farms, Inc. v. Love (1967) 255 Cal.App.2d 366, 369, 63 Cal.Rptr. 123.) Rather, where as here, the judgment meets the statutory test of appealability—i.e., it is a “final judgment of conviction” (
Defendant suggests that the only procedural problem in this case is the timing of his abandonment of the first appeal. “Had it been abandoned on the day before the trial court recalled the sentence, the result would have been entirely proper and correct.” However, defendant‘s assertion is not correct: Timing is not the only procedural problem. Even if defendant had abandoned the first appeal before the trial court recalled the sentence, recalling the sentence would still have been improper because it was not for a reason rationally related to sentencing.
In any event, defendant urges us to entertain his direct challenge to the trial court‘s discovery orders because doing so will conserve judicial resources by avoiding a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Defendant argues that if this court finds that the trial court lacked jurisdiction, “the result would likely be a dismissal of the present appeal, and either the filing of a habeas petition or of a request to recall the remittitur in the first appeal in No. H030771. The result of either such procedure would pretty much be foreordained— i.e., an order allowing the vacating of the original plea, and placing the matter back in the same posture it was in when the sentence was recalled by the superior court. Clearly, the parties would then enter into the same arrangement agreed upon in the superior court—a slow plea and reimposition of the same judgment which would allow appeal of both the motion to quash the warrant and the motion to disclose the identity of the informant. [¶] In sum, after expenditure of considerable resources of the courts, appointed counsel, and the attorney general and district attorney‘s office, the case would wind up in the identical posture that it is in right now. Appellant therefore urges this Court to treat the procedures followed below, which both parties and the trial court agreed were necessary and proper, as giving rise to a proper judgment and appeal in the present matter, No. H031059.”
We agree that reversing the void judgment may result in the expenditure of additional time and resources by appointed counsel, the district attorney, and the superior court and perhaps the Attorney General and this court. However, despite our strong interest in judicial economy, we do not believe that such a purely practical interest legally justifies the circumvention of the procedures for properly preserving and presenting an issue for appellate review or authorizes us to entertain appellate
Indeed, entertaining direct review of defendant‘s claims would require us to (1) ignore the facial validity of the first judgment; (2) uphold the trial court‘s actions despite its lack of jurisdiction to take them; and (3) implicitly validate a judgment that is otherwise null and void. Moreover, if we were to reach the merits of defendant‘s claims and ultimately agree with him, then we would have to reverse the second judgment. However, doing so would have no affect on the first judgment, which, having never been reversed, has become final, and is not subject to review in this appeal.
If, on the other hand, we were to address and reject defendant‘s claims, he would not be entitled to relief—i.e., reversal of the judgment. In effect, however, we would be affirming a void judgment, which, at least theoretically, could be collaterally attacked at any time. (See People v. American Contractors Indemnity Co. (2004) 33 Cal.4th 653, 660, 16 Cal. Rptr.3d 76, 93 P.3d 1020 [“When a court lacks jurisdiction in a fundamental sense, an ensuing judgment is void, and `thus vulnerable to direct or collateral attack at any time‘“]; see People v. Jackson (1983) 150 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 13-14, 198 Cal.Rptr. 135, overruled on a different point in People v. Posey (2004) 32 Cal.4th 193, 205, fn. 5, 8 Cal.Rptr.3d 551, 82 P.3d 755; 4 Witkin & Epstein, Cal.Criminal Law (3d ed. 2000) Jurisdiction & Venue, § 45, p. 135.)
In short, we do not believe that convenience, expediency, and judicial economy allow us to blind ourselves to the fundamental jurisdictional obstacles that preclude defendant from directly challenging the trial court‘s discovery rulings in this appeal. Rather, we believe the void judgment calls for a single action: reversal. Accordingly, we decline defendant‘s invitation to address the merits of his appellate claims.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is reversed.
WE CONCUR: PREMO and ELLA, JJ.