Error and/or relief
The court imposed an incorrect term for one of the counts of conviction. It appears that the court may not have considered whether section 654 applies to some counts. And the court’s medical costs order requires clarification.
First Holding:
The court imposed one year in the county jail for violation of Health and Safety Code section 11364 (possession of narcotics paraphernalia), a misdemeanor. Because there is no specific sentence defined for that offense, the general provisions of section 11374 apply.
Every person who violates or fails to comply with any provision of the division that includes section 11364, except one for which a penalty is otherwise in that division specifically provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine in a sum not less than thirty dollars ($30) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by imprisonment for not less than 15 nor more than 180 days.
It was error to impose a jail term greater than 180 days, and the sentence imposed was an unauthorized sentence.
Authority:
HSC 11364
HSC 11374
People v. Anderson (2010) 50 Cal.4th 19, 26 [a sentence is generally unauthorized when it cannot be lawfully imposed under any circumstance in a particular case]
Second Holding:
On remand, the trial court may reconsider all components of defendant’s sentence, including whether section 654 applies to counts 3 and 4.
Authority:
People v. Codinha (2023) 92 Cal.App.5th 976, 994
Third Holding:
The trial court ordered defendant to pay for his own medical costs or medical fees while incarcerated. The trial court was not authorized to require him to pay his medical costs or fees while in prison. The probation report cited section 4011 as the authority for the medical costs order, but that section applies only to medical care of prisoners while in a city or county jail and not costs incurred during state level incarceration.
Further, section 5007.5 prohibits the Secretary from imposing a fee for inmate-initiated medical visits in prison. The statute does not prohibit requiring a prisoner to pay any other medical fees or bills that may be charged to him while incarcerated.
On remand, the trial court is instructed to clarify its order requiring defendant to pay his medical costs and fees in accordance with Penal Code section 5007.5.
Authority:
PEN 5007.5 [prohibiting the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from charging a fee for an inmate-initiated medical visit of an inmate confined in the state prison.]
PEN 4011 [concerning incarceration in a city or county jail]