People v. RamosPeople v. Ramos
MARTIN, Acting P.J.
The defendant, Sabino Ramos, was charged with eight counts of second degree robbery (
Criminal proceedings were briefly suspended pending a hearing and determination by the court that Ramos was mentally competent to stand trial. (
After entering an additional plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, Ramos pleaded guilty to the eight robbery counts and the three drug-related charges, and admitted all but one of the accompanying enhancement allegations (as discussed below), on the conditions that the three assault charges would be dismissed, that he would receive a court trial on the issue of his sanity, and that, if found sane, he would be sentenced to no more than twenty-two years in prison.
The court subsequently determined Ramos was legally sane at the time of the offenses and sentenced him to 22 years in accordance with the plea bargain. It later recalled the sentence and resentenced him to the same aggregate term after modifying its basis for calculating some of the subordinate terms. On appeal Ramos challenges the sentence in several respects.2
It is unnecessary for purposes of this appeal to provide anything more than a very brief rendition of the facts. In four separate incidents during a ten-day period in March 1995, Ramos and one or the other of two juvenile accomplices robbed a total of eight victims at gunpoint. In two of these incidents, Ramos and/or his companion struck some of the victims with guns. When Ramos was arrested a few days later, police determined he was under the influence of “PCP” and in possession of methamphetamine.
DISCUSSION
I. The Count 9 Enhancements.*
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II. Conduct Credits.
Ramos served 213 days in custody prior to sentencing. Accordingly, the court granted him an additional 31 days’ conduct credits pursuant to section 2933.1 which provides in part:
“(a) Notwithstanding any other law, any person who is convicted of a felony offense listed in section 667.5 shall accrue no more than 15 percent of worktime credit, as defined in Section 2933 [relating to prison credits].
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“(c) Notwithstanding Section 4019 or any other provision of the law, the maximum credit that may be earned against a period of confinement in, or commitment to, a county jail, industrial farm, or road camp, or a city jail, industrial farm, or road camp, following arrest and prior to placement in the custody of the Department of Corrections, shall not exceed 15 percent of the actual period of confinement for any person specified in subdivision (a).” (Italics added.) Among those offenses listed in section 667.5, pertaining to “violent felonies,” is “any felony in which the defendant uses a firearm which use has been charged and proved as provided in Section 12022.5....” (
Fifteen percent of 213 days is 31.95 days. Thus the trial court awarded Ramos the largest whole number of days which did not exceed 15 percent, or
We reject defendant‘s argument. (2) The fundamental goal of statutory construction is to “ascertain and effectuate legislative intent.” (People v. Woodhead (1987) 43 Cal.3d 1002, 1007 [239 Cal. Rptr. 656, 741 P.2d 154].) We look first to the words themselves to determine intent, and no interpretation is necessary if they are clear and unambiguous. (Id. at pp. 1007-1008.) But when the intent is not clear from the statute itself, “the provision must be given a reasonable and common sense interpretation consistent with the apparent purpose and intention of the lawmakers, practical rather than technical in nature, which upon application will result in wise policy rather than mischief or absurdity.” (DeYoung v. City of San Diego (1983) 147 Cal. App.3d 11, 18 [194 Cal. Rptr. 722].)
(3) Moreover, “[w]hen language which is susceptible of two constructions is used in a penal law, the policy of this state is to construe the statute as favorably to the defendant as its language and the circumstance of its application reasonably permit. The defendant is entitled to the benefit of every reasonable doubt as to the true interpretation of words or the construction of a statute.” (People v. Overstreet (1986) 42 Cal.3d 891, 896 [231 Cal. Rptr. 213, 726 P.2d 1288].)
(1b) Nevertheless, “15 percent” cannot reasonably be understood to mean a number somewhere between 15 and 16 percent. If the Legislature had intended the term to refer to a range of values, it surely would have said so. But in that event, additional language would have been necessary to identify which of several figures within the range was the correct one for calculating custody credits. There being no such language, we will not presume the Legislature intended to leave the term uncertain in favor of giving it a single unambiguous meaning. Therefore, we conclude “15 percent” means exactly 15.00 percent and nothing more.
It follows that Ramos was properly awarded 31 days of conduct credit because that is the greatest whole number of days which does not “exceed 15[.00] percent of the actual period of confinement....” (
Finally, whatever the proper interpretation of section 2933.1, Ramos argues its limitations do not apply to his eight-month consecutive sentence for possession of a controlled substance, which is not a violent felony within the meaning of section 667.5. Instead, he maintains his conduct credits for that offense must be calculated according to the more liberal provisions of section 4019. However, the language of section 2933.1 does not support his position. The statute applies “[n]otwithstanding Section 4019 or any other provision of the law” and limits to 15 percent the maximum number of conduct credits available to “any person who is convicted of a felony offense listed in Section 667.5.” That is, by its terms, section 2933.1 applies to the offender not to the offense and so limits a violent felon‘s conduct credits irrespective of whether or not all his or her offenses come within section 667.5. The Legislature could have confined the 15 percent rule to the defendant‘s violent felonies if that had been its intention. (Cf.
In summary, we conclude the trial court correctly calculated and applied Ramos‘s presentence conduct credits to comply with but not exceed the 15.00 percent limitation of section 2933.1.
III. Direct Restitution.*
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IV. Conduct Credits — Equal Protection.
(4a) After our opinion was filed in this case addressing the three previous issues, we received a letter from the Los Angeles County Public Defender disputing not our interpretation of the 15 percent limitation but its application, claiming the method we used to calculate presentence conduct credits violates equal protection principles in that it causes a person such as Ramos, who is confined in the county jail prior to sentencing, to earn fewer conduct credits than a person who receives the same sentence but serves the entire term in prison. Ramos subsequently petitioned for a rehearing on the
According to Ramos, the disparity arises because the conduct credits one earns in prison are based on the total term of imprisonment whereas, under the method employed here, credits earned prior to sentencing are based on the actual period of confinement. Using Ramos‘s example, a person sentenced to 2 years (730 days) who serves his or her entire term in prison is eligible for release after 621 days (730 - 15 percent). A person who spends a year in the county jail prior to receiving the same 2-year sentence earns 54 days of presentence conduct credits (365 x 15 percent) leaving 311 days left to be served in prison (730 - (365 + 54)). Reducing the remaining term by 15 percent yields 265 days (311 - 15 percent), meaning the person spends a total of 630 days in custody (365 + 265), 9 more days than the person who spends no time in county jail. This disparity violates his right to equal protection, Ramos urges, because it treats him less favorably than someone who is able to post bail.
Ramos proposes an interpretation of section 2933, subdivision (c) which would avoid this disparity by calculating presentence conduct credits based not on the actual number of days spent in jail awaiting trial but on the term, including credits, to which a county jail detainee would need to have been sentenced in order to be released in that time. Under this method, using the same example, a person would be eligible for release in 365 days who had been sentenced to 429 days (365 ÷ .85). The remaining prison term of 301 days (730 - 429), reduced by 15 percent, is 256 days (301 - 15 percent). This person then, like the one who serves his or her entire term in prison, would spend a total of 621 days in confinement (365 + 256).9 Ramos maintains the statute envisions use of this method both because the Legislature intended such a result and because the federal and state Constitutions require it. Since he spent 213 days in county jail prior to sentencing, he maintains he is entitled to credit for 250 days against his subsequent prison term (213 ÷ .85), a figure which reflects 37 days of presentence conduct credits rather than the 31 days he was awarded (213 x .15).
A. Presentence and Prison Credits.
Section 2933.1 governs the calculation of conduct credits for a person convicted of a violent felony as defined in section 667.5 (hereafter a violent
Accordingly, section 2933.1, subdivision (a) might be construed to mean a violent felon earns 15 percent of a day of credit for each day he or she is enrolled in a prison work program. But section 2933 speaks of a “worktime credit reduction[] ... from [the] term of confinement.” This language would indicate the term to which the person was sentenced will be reduced by 15 percent to determine the number of days he or she is required to serve.10 Since the parties appear to agree, we proceed on the assumption, without necessarily deciding, that this latter method is the correct one for calculating prison conduct credits for a violent felon.
Section 2933.1, subdivision (c), on the other hand, provides that the credits earned by a violent felon while held in a presentence detention facility “shall not exceed 15 percent of the actual period of confinement. ...” (Italics added.) This provision plainly looks to the number of days an unsentenced defendant actually spends in local custody rather than to some hypothetical term of confinement.
The distinction between credits for sentenced felons based on the term of imprisonment and credits for unsentenced detainees based on the actual period of confinement appears in other contexts as well. Presentence conduct credits for nonviolent felons are governed by section 2900.5 which states in part: “(a) In all felony and misdemeanor convictions, ... when the defendant has been in custody, including, but not limited to any time spent in jail, ... all days of custody of the defendant, ... including days credited to the period of confinement pursuant to section 4019, shall be credited upon
In sum, we conclude our interpretation of section 2933.1 does indeed calculate a violent felon‘s presentence conduct credits based on a slightly less generous formula than is used to determine his or her prison conduct credits. But we reject Ramos‘s assertion that this interpretation therefore contravenes the intent of the statute. On the contrary, the interpretation is consistent not only with the unambiguous language of the statute itself but with other expressions of legislative intent as well. Assembly Member
“In enacting Penal Code section 2933.1, it is my intent and that of the Legislature to ensure that the maximum fifteen percent reduction apply to a defendant‘s entire term of imprisonment, so long as the defendant has been convicted of at least one violent felony, as specified in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5.
(5) (See fn. 12.) “It is further my intent, and that of the Legislature, in enacting Penal Code section 2933.1 to ensure that the maximum fifteen percent reduction apply with equal force and effect to actual custody served prior to imposition of the term of imprisonment for a violent felony, as specified, pursuant to Penal Code section 2900.5.” (Assem. J. (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) p. 9353, italics added.)12 The remaining question then is whether the resulting disparity violates equal protection principles.
B. Equal Protection.
(6) “The first prerequisite to a meritorious claim under the equal protection clause is a showing that the state has adopted a classification that affects two or more similarly situated groups in an unequal manner.” (In re Eric J. (1979) 25 Cal.3d 522, 530 [159 Cal. Rptr. 317, 601 P.2d 549].)
“`The constitutional guaranty of equal protection of the laws has been judicially defined to mean that no person or class of persons shall be denied the same protection of the laws which is enjoyed by other persons or other classes in like circumstances in their lives, liberty and property and in their pursuit of happiness. [Citations.] The concept recognizes that persons similarly situated with respect to the legitimate purpose of the law receive like
“... `[T]he Legislature may make a reasonable classification of persons and pass special legislation applying to certain classes. The classification cannot be arbitrary, but must be based on some difference in the classes having a substantial relation to a legitimate objective to be accomplished. [Citation.] The presumption is in favor of the classification and will not be rejected unless plainly arbitrary. [Citation.]’ [Citation.]” (People v. Heard (1993) 18 Cal. App.4th 1025, 1029-1030 [22 Cal. Rptr.2d 684]; People v. Eddy (1995) 32 Cal. App.4th 1098, 1108-1109 [38 Cal. Rptr.2d 563].)
(4b) Numerous cases have held that various classes of detainees are not similarly situated with respect to the award of conduct credits. In a context very similar to the one before us, for example, a nonviolent felon earns fewer conduct credits during presentence confinement in a local detention facility (
“While state prison inmates are conclusively guilty and presumptively in need of rehabilitation, pretrial felony detainees are presumptively innocent and may not require rehabilitation. [Citations.] The difficulty of establishing prison-style work programs in county jails for pretrial detainees — who may make bail, or have work programs interrupted by court appearances and other obligations — further distinguishes pretrial detainees from state prisoners and justifies the slightly disparate scheme for awarding conduct credits to the former class.” (People v. Heard, supra, 18 Cal. App.4th at pp. 1030-1031; People v. Caddick, supra, 160 Cal. App.3d at p. 53.)
Moreover, all these decisions distinguished People v. Sage (1980) 26 Cal.3d 498 [165 Cal. Rptr. 280, 611 P.2d 874], the one case upon
“The first distinction between Sage and the instant case is that appellant demands credits for work performance under section 2933, rather than 2931. Section 2933 credits `must be earned’ and are available only to prison inmates who are assigned to a full-time credit qualifying program. (
“The legislative intent in enacting section 2933 cited the same factors that were discussed in Sage, and added the desire that prisons become more self-sufficient through the establishment of work programs. [Citation.] The legislative justification for this differential treatment of prisoners cannot be summarily rejected here, as it was in Sage, because the factors do not apply to misdemeanants here. The Supreme Court has subsequently cited Poole, Ross, Valladares, and Caruso, supra, with apparent approval for the conclusion that the state‘s interest in rehabilitation and the difficulty in establishing prison-style work programs in county jails justify the disparate application of presentence and postsentence work credits. (People v. Waterman (1986) 42 Cal.3d 565, 570....) We conclude that appellant‘s argument is incorrect, and we adhere to the existing authority on this issue.” (218 Cal. App.3d at p. 1320, fn. omitted.)
Similarly, the courts have upheld other statutory schemes which treat detainees differently when it comes to conduct credits. It does not offend equal protection principles to award fewer credits (or none at all) to California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) committees (
As in the case of a nonviolent felony, a violent felon confined in a local detention facility prior to sentencing is not similarly situated for equal protection purposes to one serving a term in state prison and enrolled in a qualifying work program. (People v. Applin, supra, 40 Cal. App.4th at p. 411; People v. Heard, supra, 18 Cal. App.4th at pp. 1030-1031; People v. Caddick, supra, 160 Cal. App.3d at p. 53.) Consequently, we reject Ramos‘s equal protection claim.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is modified to strike the personal use enhancement imposed in count 9. The matter is remanded to the trial court for resentencing with
Dibiaso, J., and Harris, J., concurred.
A petition for a rehearing was denied November 19, 1996, and appellant‘s petition for review by the Supreme Court was denied February 5, 1997. Mosk, J., was of the opinion that the petition should be granted.