In August 2012 defendant Daniel Lawrence Nichols pleaded no contest to the felony offense of buying or receiving a stolen motor vehicle with a prior conviction for vehicle theft (Pen.Code, §§ 496d, 666.5 ),
In November 2014 defendant filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which the trial court treated as a petition for resentencing under section 1170.18, subdivision (a). Section 1170.18 was enacted by Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act (the Act). (Prop. 47, as approved by voters, Gen. Elec. (Nov. 4, 2014), effective Nov. 5, 2014.) The trial court denied the petition on the ground that section 1170.18 does not apply to a felony conviction for buying or receiving a stolen motor vehicle in violation of
On appeal, defendant contends that the trial court erred because section 1170.18 should be construed to apply to a felony conviction for violating section 496d where the value of the stolen motor vehicle was $950 or less. Defendant also contends the trial court's order violates his constitutional right to equal protection. For the reasons stated below, we find no merit in defendant's contentions and therefore we will affirm the order.
II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On August 20, 2012, defendant pleaded no contest to the felony offense of buying or receiving a stolen motor vehicle with a prior conviction for vehicle theft (§§ 496d, 666.5 ), and admitted the allegation that he had one prior violent or serious felony conviction that also qualified as a strike within the meaning of the Three Strikes law (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12).
Defendant filed a petition in propria persona for a writ of habeas corpus on November 19, 2014, in which he sought to have his sentence reduced pursuant to Proposition 47. The trial court issued an order on November 20, 2014, appointing defense counsel and construing the habeas corpus petition
The trial court denied the petition for resentencing during the hearing held on January 21, 2015. The court reasoned that "the very plain language" of section 1170.18 did not include a violation of section 496d as a felony conviction for which resentencing is authorized.
III. DISCUSSION
Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal from the trial court's January 21, 2015 order. We will begin our evaluation of defendant's contentions of trial court error with a brief summary of the pertinent provisions of Proposition 47.
A. Proposition 47
On November 4, 2014, the voters enacted Proposition 47, which reclassified certain felony drug and theft related offenses as misdemeanors and enacted a new statutory provision, section 1170.18, whereby a person serving a felony sentence for the reclassified offenses may petition for a recall of his or her sentence. (§ 1170.18, subd. (a).)
Section 1170.18 applies to "[a] person currently serving a sentence for a conviction, whether by trial or plea, of a felony or felonies who would have been guilty of a misdemeanor under the act that added this section ('this act') had this act been in effect at the time of the offense." (§ 1170.18, subd. (a).) Under section 1170.18, subdivision (a), such a person "may petition for a recall of sentence before the trial court that entered the judgment of conviction in his or her case to request resentencing in accordance with Sections 11350, 11357, or 11377 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section 459.5, 473, 476a, 490.2, 496, or 666 of the Penal Code, as those sections have been amended or added by this act." Section 1170.18, subdivision (b) specifies the procedure for
The theft related offenses enumerated in section 1170.18, subdivisions (a) and (b) that may be reclassified and resentenced as misdemeanors under Proposition 47 include shoplifting with a value of $950 or less [§ 459.5, subd (a) ]; forgery of a document with a value of $950 or less [
B. Exclusion of Section 496d
On appeal, defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his petition for resentencing under Proposition 47 because section 1170.18 should be construed to apply to a felony conviction for violating section 496d where the value of the stolen motor vehicle was $950 or less. Defendant acknowledges that a felony conviction under section 496d is not one of the theft related offenses included in section 1170.18, subdivisions (a) and (b). He argues, however, that section 1170.18 expressly applies to the "parallel" offenses of vehicle theft (§§ 490.2, subd. (a) ), and receiving stolen property (§ 496, subd. (a) ) where the value of the stolen property is $950 or less, and therefore it is clear that the voters intended that all theft related offenses be treated as misdemeanors where the value of the property is less than $950. Alternatively, defendant contends that any ambiguity in section 1170.18 must be liberally interpreted to effectuate Proposition 47's purpose of "reducing prison spending on non-violent crimes," by treating all property related offenses as misdemeanors where the property has a value of $950 or less.
The People disagree, arguing that defendant is not eligible for resentencing under Proposition 47 because the plain language of Proposition 47 does not include section 496d. The People assert that "[t]he voters did not intend that those convicted of felony buying or receiving a stolen vehicle should have their convictions reduced to a misdemeanor...."
We resolve the issue under of the rules of statutory interpretation, which are applicable to voter initiatives like Proposition 47. "When we interpret an initiative, we apply the same principles governing statutory construction. We first consider the initiative's language, giving the words their ordinary meaning and construing this language in the context of the statute and initiative as a whole. If the language is not ambiguous, we presume the voters intended the meaning apparent from that language, and we may not add to the statute or rewrite it to conform to some assumed intent not apparent from that language. If the language is ambiguous, courts may consider ballot summaries and arguments in determining the voters' intent and understanding of a ballot measure. [Citation.]" (People v. Superior Court (Pearson) (2010)
Since section 1170.18, subdivisions (a) and (b) expressly includes certain theft related offenses (§§ 459.5, 473, 476a, 490.2, 496, & 666 ), we determine that the intent of the voters was to exclude theft related offenses not mentioned in the statute from reclassification and resentencing under Proposition 47. (See, e.g., Sanchez, supra,
We therefore conclude that the trial court did not err in denying defendant's petition for resentencing because section 496d is not included in section 1170.18. Defendant's reliance on the rule of lenity does not convince us to alter our conclusion. " 'The rule [of lenity] applies only if the court can do no more than guess what the legislative body intended; there must be an egregious ambiguity and uncertainty to justify invoking the rule.' [Citation.]" (People v. Avery (2002)
Defendant also contends that denying a petition for resentencing of a section 496d conviction of buying or receiving a stolen motor vehicle with a value of $950 or less violates the constitutional right to equal protection. He explains that "a person guilty of receiving a stolen vehicle (section 496d ) with a value of $950 or less is similarly situated with respect to persons guilty of stealing a vehicle of the same value (section 490.2 ) and persons guilty of receiving other stolen property of the same value (section 496 )." Defendant correctly asserts that the federal equal protection clause (U.S. Const., 14th Amend.) and the California equal protection clause (Cal. Const., art. I, § 7, subd. (a)) provide that all persons similarly situated should be treated alike. However, that does not end our analysis.
The California Supreme Court has instructed that "[a] defendant ... 'does not have a fundamental interest in a specific term of imprisonment or in the designation a particular crime receives.' [Citations.]" (People v. Wilkinson (2004)
The Johnson court applied the rational basis test as follows: " 'This standard of rationality does not depend upon whether lawmakers ever actually articulated the purpose they sought to achieve. Nor must the underlying rationale be empirically substantiated. [Citation.] While the realities of the subject matter cannot be completely ignored [citation], a court may engage in " 'rational speculation' " as to the justifications for the legislative choice [citation]. It is immaterial for rational basis review "whether or not" any such speculation has "a foundation in the record." ' [Citation.]" (Johnson, supra,
In the present case, the People argue that there was a rational basis for the voters to omit a felony conviction under section 496d for buying or receiving a stolen motor vehicle from reclassification and resentencing under
Defendant responds that the People failed to satisfy the rational basis test because there is no factual support for their assertions, which "rest on inference, speculation or conjecture." However, defendant's contention is contrary to California Supreme Court authority. As we have noted, the Johnson court stated: " 'It is immaterial for rational basis review "whether or not" any such speculation has "a foundation in the record." ' [Citation.]" (Johnson, supra,
We find that there are several plausible reasons for the alleged disparity in excluding a conviction under section 496d from reclassification and resentencing under section 1170.18 where the value of the stolen motor vehicle was $950 or less. One reason is that the offense of buying or receiving a stolen motor vehicle may have greater consequences for the victims than other theft related offenses. The owners of motor vehicles are often dependent on their vehicles for transportation to work and school, and for obtaining the necessities of life, "which is not so frequently the case with theft of other forms of property." (Peacock, supra,
For these reasons, we determine that the rational basis test is satisfied because there is a plausible basis for the alleged disparity between a conviction under section 496d for buying or receiving a motor vehicle with a value of $950 or less, which is not eligible for reclassification and resentencing under section 1170.18, and the eligible convictions under section 496 (receiving stolen property with a value of $950 or less) and section 490.2 (petty theft with a value of $950 or less). Accordingly, we find no merit in defendant's equal protection claim.
In his reply brief, defendant requests a remand for an evidentiary hearing on the value of the stolen motor vehicle involved in his section 496d conviction. However, we have concluded that defendant's section 496d conviction is not eligible for reclassification and resentencing under section 1170.18 even if the actual value of the stolen motor vehicle was $950 or less.
For these reasons, we conclude the trial court did not err in denying defendant's petition for resentencing. We will therefore affirm the order.
IV. DISPOSITION
The order of January 21, 2015, is affirmed.
WE CONCUR:
ELIA, ACTING P.J.
MIHARA, J.
Notes
All statutory references hereafter are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.