Error and/or relief
The trial court erred in concluding that the defendant was ineligible for resentencing under section 1172.75 because the original trial court struck the punishment for his now-invalid prior prison term enhancement.
Holding:
As of January 1, 2020, SB 136 amended section 667.5(b) to eliminate sentence enhancements for prior prison terms unless the enhancements related to prior terms for sexually violent offenses. The purpose of the statute is to reduce the societal and fiscal burdens of incarceration by eliminating prior-prison-term enhancements for all prior crimes except for sexually violent offenses. Section 1172.75(a), which was added to implement SB 136, states that any sentence enhancement that was imposed prior to January 1, 2020, pursuant to section 667.5(b) is legally invalid.
Under Rhodius and Espino, section 1172.75 applies whenever an enhancement under section 667.5(b) was imposed prior to January 1, 2020, even if the court stayed or struck the punishment for it.
Authority:
PEN 667.5(b)
People v. Coddington (2023) 96 Cal.App.5th 562, 567
People v. Rhodius (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1050, 1054
People v. Espino (2026) 20 Cal.5th 57
Gary Musings:
The above language “by eliminating prior-prison-term enhancements for all prior crimes except for sexually violent offenses” is a bit looser maybe than it should be. Subdivision (b) was indeed amended, and the subdivision (b) now applies only if the offense was a sexually violent offense as defined in Welfare and Institutions Code section 6600(b).
Keep your eyes on the prize here, though. SB 136 did not eliminate prior-prison-term enhancements for “all prior crimes except for sexually violent offenses” as stated in the opinion. It eliminated only those specified in subdivision (b), except for the specified sexually violent offenses.
But SB 136 did NOT eliminate the three-year enhancement specified in section 667.5(a) for any qualifying prior prison terms served for the violent felonies listed in subdivision (c), which itemizes at least 24 crimes and circumstances that give rise to the status as “violent felony.”
I have seen that “by eliminating prior-prison-term enhancements for all prior crimes except for sexually violent offenses” language in other unpublished opinions, and it is a direct quotation from Rhodius itself, at p. 1054. I understand the context because section 1172.75 pertains only to enhancements under subdivision (b).
But I fear that maybe an attorney new to the field might read too much into that phrase. Hence, this Gary Musings to help keep such quick readers from straying. Though Rhodius does use the phrase “all prior crimes” in its fourth paragraph, it more specifically describes the effect of SB 136 in its first paragraph, where it says, “Effective January 1, 2020, the Legislature eliminated these one-year prior-prison-term enhancements except in cases involving prior terms for sexually violent offenses.” (I.e., referring only to the 667.5(b) enhancements.)
The Legislative Counsel’s Digest characterizes the amendment as follows:
“Existing law imposes an additional 3-year sentence for each prior separate prison term served by a defendant where the prior and current offense was a violent felony, as defined. For other felonies, existing law imposes an additional one-year term for each prior separate prison term or county jail felony term, except under specified circumstances.
“This bill would instead impose that additional one-year term served for each prior separate prison term served for a conviction of a sexually violent offense, as defined.”
By using the language “that additional one-year term served …” in the second paragraph, the Leg Counsel’s digest makes it clear that only the subdivision (b) category has been affected. It says nothing about the three-year term imposed under section 667.5(a) for violent felonies as defined in subdivision (c).
The phrase regarding eliminating prior-prison-term enhancements for “all prior crimes except for sexually violent offenses” appears nowhere in SB 136.
So with eyes wide open, recognize that enhancements for prior prison terms for violent felonies described in section 667.5(c) are alive and well.