Monthly Archives: June 2026

Case 000052

Error and/or relief

Rhodius resolved a split of authority among the Courts of Appeal regarding resentencing eligibility when a defendant’s sentence for a prior prison enhancement (see former sec. 667.5(b)) was stayed and never executed. Rhodius held that defendants whose enhanced prison prior term or terms were stayed at sentencing are eligible for resentencing under section 1172.75. Pursuant to Rhodius, the court therefore reversed the trial court’s order denying defendant a resentencing hearing, and remanded for the court to hold that hearing.

Holding:

Defendants whose enhanced prison prior term or terms were stayed at sentencing are eligible for resentencing under section 1172.75.

Authority:

PEN 1172.75

People v. Rhodius (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1050

Case 000051

Error and/or relief

The restitution fine must be vacated because more than 10 years have elapsed since the court imposed the fine.

First Holding:

Restitution fines are no longer collectible 10 years after their imposition and the balance, including any collection fees, shall be unenforceable and uncollectible and any portion of a judgment imposing those fines shall be vacated.

Authority:

PEN 1465.9

Second Holding:

Section 1465.9 is retroactive to those whose judgments are not final.

Authority:

In re Estrada (1965) 63 Cal.2d 740, 748 [absent evidence to the contrary, we presume ameliorative criminal statutes apply retroactively to all nonfinal judgments]

Case 000050 (remember, there is no 000049)

Error and/or relief

The trial court erred in imposing a $100 infraction fine after defendant failed to submit a firearm relinquishment form. Here, the People did not charge or approve the charging of an infraction for failure to file a completed Prohibited Persons Relinquishment Form. Nevertheless, the trial court found that defendant did not file the required form and imposed the $100 fine. As the People concede, this was beyond its power to do. We will modify the judgment to strike the fine.

Holding:

The court may not unilaterally fine a defendant for failing to complete a firearms relinquishment form. The process requires first that a prosecutor file a complaint alleging violation of Penal Code section 29810. Section 29810 requires persons convicted of a felony to relinquish all firearms within a prescribed period of time following the conviction. Failure by a defendant to timely file the completed Prohibited Persons Relinquishment Form with the assigned probation officer shall constitute an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding $100. But due process of law requires that criminal prosecutions be instituted through the regular processes of law. These regular processes include the requirement that the institution of any criminal proceeding be authorized and approved by the district attorney.

Authority:

PEN 29810

People v. Villatoro (2020) 44 Cal.App.5th 365, 369

Cases 000046, 000047, 000048, and there is no 000049

Error and/or relief

[GARY’S NOTE: Three cases held exactly the same and are lumped together here, and there is no case 000049 (as a result of blogger error).]  Under the authority of Rhodius, we reverse the trial court’s order denying defendant a resentencing hearing, and remand for the court to hold that hearing. Under section 1172.75, a person is eligible for resentencing consideration even if the prior prison term enhancement had been stayed or stricken.

First Holding:

Rhodius resolved a split of authority among the Courts of Appeal regarding resentencing eligibility when a defendant’s sentence for a prior prison enhancement (see former § 667.5, subd. (b)) was stayed and never executed. Rhodius held that defendants whose enhanced prison prior term or terms were stayed at sentencing are eligible for resentencing under section 1172.75.

Authority:

PEN 1172.75

PEN 667.5(b)

People v. Rhodius (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1050

Case 000045

Error and/or relief

On appeal, the minor contends that the electronics search conditions should be stricken as unreasonable under People v. Lent (1975) 15 Cal.3d 481 or, at a minimum, modified as unconstitutionally overbroad. He also maintains that the association condition should be modified due to its overbreadth. We find the electronics search conditions reasonable under Lent, but we accept the People’s concession that they are unconstitutionally overbroad. We see no constitutional infirmity in the association condition. We therefore remand the matter to the trial court to strike or modify the electronics search condition. Remanded to modify terms 9 and 16

First Holding:

Under Lent, a condition of probation will not be held invalid unless it (1) has no relationship to the crime of which the offender was convicted, (2) relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal, and (3) requires or forbids conduct which is not reasonably related to future criminality. The Lent test is conjunctive—all three prongs must be satisfied before a reviewing court will invalidate a probation term. We find dispositive the first element of Lent’s test, which asks whether the probation condition has no relationship to the conviction. Here, the record supports an implied finding that there was a relationship between the offense and minor’s use of an electronic device and the internet.

Authority:

People v. Lent (1975) 15 Cal.3d 481, 486

People v. Olguin (2008) 45 Cal.4th 375, 379

People v. Patton (2019) 41 Cal.App.5th 934, 945

Second Holding:

The failure to object to a probation condition as unreasonable under Lent generally forfeits the contention on appeal. Only facial constitutional challenges to a probation condition that are capable of correction without reference to the particular sentencing record are exempt from the general forfeiture rule.

Authority:

People v. Welch (1993) 5 Cal.4th 228, 234-235, 237

In re Sheena K. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 875, 887

Third Holding:

The court may nevertheless exercise its discretion to consider the merits of both his Lent and constitutional claims in light of the People’s concession and the minor’s alternative contention that his trial counsel’s failure to make an adequate objection constituted ineffective assistance.

Authority:

People v. Mattson (1990) 50 Cal.3d 826, 854 [considering issues not raised in trial court to forestall later claim of constitutionally inadequate representation]

People v. Williams (1998) 17 Cal.4th 148, 161, fn. 6 [appellate courts may reach unpreserved questions]

Fourth Holding:

In applying the Lent test, we review the conditions imposed for abuse of discretion.

Authority:

In re Ricardo P. (2019) 7 Cal.5th 1113, 1118

People v. Salvador (2022) 83 Cal.App.5th 57, 62, 64

Fifth Holding:

We review constitutional overbreadth questions de novo

Authority:

In re P.O. (2016) 246 Cal.App.4th 288, 297

Sixth Holding:

The electronic search conditions here were overly broad.

Authority:

People v. O’Neil (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 1351, 1355 [If a probation condition serves to rehabilitate and protect public safety, the condition may impinge upon a constitutional right otherwise enjoyed by the probationer, who is not entitled to the same degree of constitutional protection as other citizens.]

In re Sheena K. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 875, 890 [A probation condition that imposes limitations on a person’s constitutional rights must closely tailor those limitations to the purpose of the condition to avoid being invalidated as unconstitutionally overbroad.]

In re E.O. (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 1149, 1153 [The essential question in an overbreadth challenge is the closeness of the fit between the legitimate purpose of the restriction and the burden it imposes on the defendant’s constitutional rights—bearing in mind, of course, that perfection in such matters is impossible, and that practical necessity will justify some infringement]