BACKGROUND
On November 4, 2014, defendant pled guilty to charges in three cases and admitted the special allegations, as follows.
In case No. MCR047692 (case 2), defendant pled guilty to possession for sale of methamphetamine (§ 11378) and transportation or sale of methamphetamine (§ 11379, subd. (a) ). He admitted committing these offenses while on bail or release ( Pen. Code, § 12022.1 ).
In case No. MCR047982 (case 3), defendant pled guilty to possession for sale of methamphetamine (§ 11378). He admitted having suffered the same four prior felony drug convictions ( § 11370.2, subd. (c) ) and having served the same three prior prison terms ( Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b) ) as he had admitted in case 1.
The same day, the trial court suspended imposition of sentence, granted defendant five years' probation in all three cases, and ordered him to attend drug court.
On March 3, 2016, the Madera County Probation Department filed a first amended petition for revocation of probation in all three cases.
On April 1, 2016, defendant admitted the probation violations.
On June 1, 2016, the trial court revoked probation and declined to reinstate it. The court heard argument and considered the probation officer's report, then sentenced defendant to an aggregate term of five years, plus four three-year prior felony drug conviction enhancements ( § 11370.2, subd. (c) ) and three one-year prior prison term enhancements ( Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b) ). The court imposed these seven enhancements in case 1. In case 3, the court imposed the same seven enhancements, but either stayed or struck them. In sum, the court sentenced defendant to a split term of 22 years-10 years to be served in county jail and 12 years on mandatory supervision ( Pen. Code, § 1170, subd. (h)(5)(B) ).
On June 16, 2016, defendant filed a notice of appeal in all three cases. On September 13, 2017, we filed our opinion.
On October 11, 2017, the governor signed Senate Bill No. 180, which would become effective on January 1, 2018.
On October 20, 2017, defendant petitioned the California Supreme Court for review based on Senate Bill No. 180.
On December 20, 2017, the California Supreme Court granted review and remanded the case back to us with directions to vacate our decision and reconsider in light of Senate Bill No. 180.
DISCUSSION
I. PRESENTENCE CUSTODY CREDITS
Defendant contends he is entitled to three more days of conduct credit in case 1, and thus his current sentence is unauthorized.
For purposes of calculating presentence conduct credit, time is cumulative. ( People v. Culp (2002)
II. STATUS ENHANCEMENTS
The parties agree that the trial court imposed the same seven status enhancements-four prior felony drug conviction enhancements and three prior prison term enhancements-in both case 1 and case 3. In the latter case, the trial court orally imposed the enhancements and then stayed them pursuant to section 654.
A. Section 11370.2, Subdivision (c) Enhancements
By way of petition for review, defendant contended that he should receive the benefit of Senate Bill No. 180, which recently amended section 11370.2. The Supreme Court granted review and remanded the case to us with directions to vacate and reconsider in light of this recent amendment. The parties have submitted supplemental briefs.
Absent some indication to the contrary in the bill, courts presume the Legislature intended amendments that reduce the punishment for a crime to apply retroactively, at least in cases that are not yet final. (See People v. Brown (2012)
Generally, "where the amendatory statute mitigates punishment and there is no saving clause, the rule is that the amendment will operate retroactively so that the lighter punishment is imposed" ( Estrada, supra,
Accordingly, Senate Bill No. 180 applies retroactively to cases in which the judgment was not yet final on January 1, 2018, as the parties agree. The threshold question, then, is whether defendant's judgment was final on that date. On this question, the parties disagree.
In a criminal case, the sentence is the judgment. ( People v. Wilcox (2013)
In the first situation, when the trial court initially suspends imposition of sentence and grants probation, "no judgment is then pending against the probationer, who is subject only to the terms and conditions of the probation." ( People v. Howard (1997)
In the second situation, when the trial court initially imposes sentence, but suspends execution of that sentence and grants probation, a judgment has been rendered. ( People v. Mora (2013)
"It is true that, under [Penal Code] section 1237, an order granting probation is deemed a 'final judgment' for the purpose of taking an appeal. [Citation.] [The Supreme Court has] explained, however, that such an order 'does not have the effect of a judgment for other purposes.' " ( People v. Chavez (2018)
To support their argument that defendant's judgment is final under Penal Code section 1237, the People rely on People v. Superior Court (Rodas) (2017)
The People petitioned for a writ of mandate directing the trial court to vacate its order allowing Rodas to withdraw her plea. ( Rodas, supra, 10 Cal.App.5th at pp. 1319-1320,
The Rodas court acknowledged it had recently decided People v. Eagle (2016)
The Rodas court pointed out that, in Eagle , it did not consider Penal Code section 1018 or its "effect ... on a trial court's jurisdiction to grant an untimely motion to withdraw a guilty plea," and thus Eagle was "of no help in determining the effect of the statute on Rodas's ability to belatedly withdraw her guilty plea." ( Rodas, supra, 10 Cal.App.5th at pp. 1322-1323,
B. Penal Code Section 667.5, Subdivision (b) Enhancements
Status enhancements, such as those imposed pursuant to Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (b), go to the nature or status of the defendant in general, such as his criminal history of prior convictions and prior prison terms. ( People v. Gokey (1998)
Status enhancement are not subject to the one-third term limitation of Penal Code section 1170.1, subdivision (a), and must be imposed at full term. ( Pen. Code, § 1170.1, subd. (a) ["the aggregate term of imprisonment for all these convictions shall be the sum of the principal term, the subordinate term, and any additional term imposed for applicable enhancements for prior convictions, prior prison terms , and [Penal Code] Section 12022.1.... The subordinate term for each consecutive offense shall consist of one-third of the middle term of imprisonment prescribed for each other felony conviction for which a consecutive term of imprisonment is imposed, and shall include one-third of the term imposed for any specific enhancements applicable to those subordinate offenses" (italics added) ]; Pen. Code, § 1170.11 ["[a]s used in [Penal Code] Section 1170.1, the term 'specific enhancement' means an enhancement that relates to the circumstances of the crime"]; People v. Beard (2012)
Here, the Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (b) status enhancements should have been imposed only once on the aggregate term. The second set of enhancements should not have been imposed, and they must be stricken.
DISPOSITION
The sentence is vacated and the matter remanded to the trial court for resentencing with the following considerations: (1) in case No. MCR047554, the number of conduct credits must be increased to 118, for a total of 236 days of credits; (2) all of the prior felony drug conviction enhancements ( Health & Saf. Code, § 11370.2, subd. (c) ) must be stricken; and (3) in case No. MCR047982, the three prior prison term enhancements ( Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b) ) must be stricken. In all other respects, the judgment of conviction is affirmed. The court is directed to forward certified copies of the amended sentencing orders and abstract of judgment to the appropriate entities.
WE CONCUR:
SMITH, J.
MEEHAN, J.
Notes
All statutory references are to the Health and Safety Code unless otherwise noted.
Defendant attempted to resolve this issue in the trial court by sending a letter to the court.
The sentencing minute orders state that the enhancements were stricken pursuant to section 1385, not stayed.
Section 11370.2, subdivision (c) now provides: "Any person convicted of a violation of, or of a conspiracy to violate, Section 11378 or 11379 with respect to any substance containing a controlled substance specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 11055 shall receive, in addition to any other punishment authorized by law, including Section 667.5 of the Penal Code, a full, separate, and consecutive three-year term for each prior felony conviction of, or for each prior felony conviction of conspiracy to violate, Section 11380 , whether or not the prior conviction resulted in a term of imprisonment." (Italics added.)
All references to rules are to the California Rules of Court unless noted otherwise.
Penal Code section 1237 provides: "An appeal may be taken by the defendant from both of the following: [¶] (a) Except as provided in [Penal Code] Sections 1237.1, 1237.2, and 1237.5, from a final judgment of conviction. A sentence, an order granting probation , or the commitment of a defendant for insanity, the indeterminate commitment of a defendant as a mentally disordered sex offender, or the commitment of a defendant for controlled substance addiction shall be deemed to be a final judgment within the meaning of this section. Upon appeal from a final judgment the court may review any order denying a motion for a new trial. [¶] (b) From any order made after judgment, affecting the substantial rights of the party." (Italics added.)
Penal Code section 1018 provides in relevant part: "On application of the defendant at any time before judgment or within six months after an order granting probation is made if entry of judgment is suspended , the court may, and in case of a defendant who appeared without counsel at the time of the plea the court shall, for a good cause shown, permit the plea of guilty to be withdrawn and a plea of not guilty substituted." (Italics added.) The six-month limit was added to this provision in 1991. (Stats. 1991, ch. 421, § 1; see People v. Miranda (2004)
Although the Rodas court did not explicitly disapprove its own prior opinion in Eagle, supra,
We note that Rodas distinguished May , as it did Eagle , because it did not consider Penal Code section 1018, but Rodas also questioned the continued viability of May 's conclusion regarding the applicability of Estrada :
"We also conclude that In re May [, supra ,]
"Even if May was not distinguishable on that ground, we question the continued viability of the court's conclusion that the defendant's conviction was not final for retroactivity purposes under Estrada. (May, supra,
In a footnote attached to the first sentence of the second paragraph above, Rodas noted: "People v. Amons (2005)
To the extent Rodas concluded a grant of probation with suspended imposition of sentence operates as a final judgment for the purposes of Estrada 's retroactivity, such that defendants who are granted probation with imposition of sentence suspended are never entitled to the retroactive benefit of a change in the law because their judgments are final 60 days after probation is granted, we respectfully disagree.
" '[F]or the purpose of determining retroactive application of an amendment to a criminal statute, a judgment is not final until the time for petitioning for a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court has passed. (In re Pedro T. (1994)
A petition for writ of certiorari is deemed timely filed with the United States Supreme Court if filed with its clerk within 90 days after entry of judgment of a state court of last resort. (U.S. Sup. Ct. Rule 13(1) ["Unless otherwise provided by law, a petition for a writ of certiorari to review a judgment in any case, civil or criminal, entered by a state court of last resort or a United States court of appeals (including the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces) is timely when it is filed with the Clerk of this Court within 90 days after entry of the judgment."]; see In re Pine, supra,
As noted above, section 11370.2, subdivision (c) sentencing enhancements are also status enhancements. (People v. Edwards (2011)
