Tag Archives: Sentencing

Jurisdiction, Probation Parole PRCS, Sentencing

Case: 000228

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

The defendant pleaded no contest to felony reckless evasion of a peace officer in a motor vehicle and misdemeanor driving with a prohibited blood alcohol concentration. The trial court granted probation for a period of three years. More than two years later, the defendant violated his probation, and the court imposed a felony prison term. The court lacked authority to impose a felony sentence because his violation of probation occurred after the first two years of the probationary term. We reverse the judgment and remand for resentencing.

Holding:

AB 1950 amended Penal Code sections 1203a and 1203.1 to restrict the length of most probation terms. (Stats. 2020, ch. 328, secs. 1, 2.) Effective January 1, 2021, misdemeanor probation terms are generally limited to one year and felony probation terms are generally limited to two years (sec.1203.1(a)). Exempt from these limits are offenses that ‘include specific probation lengths within their provisions.

Authority:

PEN 1203a

PEN 1203.1

AB 1950

People v. Saxton (2021) 68 Cal.App.5th 428, 431

Appellate Principles, Sentencing

Case: 000223

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

Sentences for eight of his convictions, which the defendant served concurrently with his completed determinate term, should have been stayed under section 654. The court found the balance of the issues forfeited for lack of objection at the trial level.

First Holding:

A party in a criminal case may not, on appeal, raise claims involving the trial court’s failure to properly make or articulate its discretionary sentencing choices if the party did not object to the sentence at trial. The rule applies to cases in which the stated reasons allegedly do not apply to the particular case, and cases in which the court purportedly erred because it double-counted a particular sentencing factor, misweighed the various factors, or failed to state any reasons or give a sufficient number of valid reasons.

Authority:

People v. Gonzalez (2003) 31 Cal.4th 745, 751

Second Holding:

In contrast to errors in exercising sentencing discretion, the waiver doctrine does not apply to questions involving the applicability of section 654. Errors in the applicability of section 654 are corrected on appeal regardless of whether the point was raised by objection in the trial court or assigned as error on appeal.

Authority:

People v. Perez (1979) 23 Cal.3d 545, 549, fn. 3

Third Holding:

In general, a person may be convicted of, although not punished for, more than one crime arising out of the same act or course of conduct. In California, a single act or course of conduct by a defendant can lead to convictions of any number of the offenses charged. Section 954 generally permits multiple conviction. Section 654 is its counterpart concerning punishment. It prohibits multiple punishment for the same act or omission. When section 954 permits multiple conviction, but section 654 prohibits multiple punishment, the trial court must stay execution of sentence on the convictions for which multiple punishment is prohibited. Imposition of concurrent sentences is not the correct method of implementing section 654, because a concurrent sentence is still punishment.

Authority:

PEN 654

PEN 954

People v. Reed (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1224, 1226–1227

People v. Alford (2010) 180 Cal.App.4th 1463, 1468

Abstracts and Minutes, Discretion, Duty of the court, Sentencing

Case: 000220

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

The defendant must be resentenced in light of enhancement-related errors and that the minute order from the bench trial on the defendant’s prior convictions requires correction. Therefore, we remand for resentencing and direct the minute order to be corrected.

First Holding:

Several of the errors raised involve the trial court’s exercise of discretion and were forfeited by the defendant’s failure to object below. Nonetheless, we have doubts about whether the trial court in fact exercised its discretion in failing to impose certain enhancements and making other sentencing choices, especially given discrepancies between the court’s tentative sentences and its final sentences. There also appears to be at least one error resulting in an unauthorized sentence that the parties do not raise. Under these circumstances, we find it appropriate to remand for both defendants to be fully resentenced so that the court can ensure the sentences reflect its intent in accordance with the law.

Authority:

People v. McCullough (2013) 56 Cal.4th 589, 594

In re G.C. (2020) 8 Cal.5th 1119, 1130

Second Holding:

Weapon enhancements must be either imposed consecutively or stricken. Such an enhancement cannot be imposed concurrently.

Authority:

PEN 1385

PEN 12022

Third Holding:

Unless stricken, prior-serious-felony and prior-prison-term enhancements are added once to each count on which an indeterminate term is imposed and once for the combined counts on which an aggregate determinate term has been imposed.

Authority:

People v. Tua (2018) 18 Cal.App.5th 1136, 1141

People v. Minifie (2018) 22 Cal.App.5th 1256, 1260

Fourth Holding:

A sentencing court may not impose terms for both a prior-serious-felony enhancement and a prior-prison-term enhancement that are based on the same underlying conviction.

Authority:

People v. Scully (2021) 11 Cal.5th 542, 612

Fifth Holding:

If a prior-conviction enhancement or punishment for it is stricken in the interest of justice, the enhancement should not also be imposed and stayed under section 654.

Authority:

People v. Tang (2025) 109 Cal.App.5th 1003, 1008–1009

Sixth Holding:

The trial court should ensure that it sufficiently explains its discretionary sentencing choices on the record.

Authority:

Rules of Court, rule 4.406

Seventh Holding:

There were several errors in the minute order that must be corrected.

[Gary note: The court did not cite any authority for its directive that the abstract be corrected, but the law is very clear that it has that authority. I have cited some cases that the court could have relied on.]

Authority:

People v. Mitchell (2001) 26 Cal.4th 181, 185

People v. Delgado (2008) 43 Cal.4th 1059, 1070

People v. Leon (2020) 8 Cal.5th 831, 855

In re Black (1967) 66 Cal.2d 881, 890

People v. Zackery (2007) 147 Cal.App.4th 380, 385

People v. Farell (2002) 28 Cal.4th 381, 384, fn. 2

Sentencing

Case: 000218

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

There was insufficient evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that defendant’s prior strikes were based on separate criminal acts, and we remand for resentencing on that basis.

First Holding:

If two strike offenses are based on a single act, the court must dismiss one of the strikes. Prior convictions for multiple criminal acts committed in a single course of conduct may be treated as separate strikes, so long as the convictions are not so closely connected that treating them as separate strikes would be contrary to the spirit of the Three Strikes law. Because we conclude that the record does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s state robbery and federal bank robbery convictions were based on separate criminal acts, the matter must be remanded for retrial on the priors and full resentencing.

Authority:

People v. Vargas (2014) 59 Cal.4th 635, 638

People v. Benson (1998) 18 Cal.4th 24, 35

People v. Buycks (2018) 5 Cal.5th 857, 893 [When part of a sentence is stricken on review, on remand for resentencing a full resentencing as to all counts is appropriate, so the trial court can exercise its sentencing discretion in light of the changed circumstances.]

Second Holding:

At the retrial, the People may produce evidence to prove that the second and third prior strike allegations were based on separate criminal acts than the fourth prior strike allegation.

Authority:

People v. Fielder (2004) 114 Cal.App.4th 1221, 1234 [Retrial of prior conviction findings is not barred by the state or federal prohibitions on double jeopardy even when a prior conviction finding is reversed on appeal for lack of substantial evidence]

Retroactivity, Sentencing

Case: 000217

Posted on by Gary McCurdy

Error and/or relief

We modify the judgment to vacate any remaining balance on defendant’s restitution fine imposed under section 1202.4(b).

First Holding:

Effective January 1, 2025, Assembly Bill No. 1186 (2023–2024 Reg. Sess.) (Stats. 2024, ch. 805, § 1) amended section 1465.9 by adding subdivision (d), which provides: Upon the expiration of 10 years after the date of imposition of a restitution fine pursuant to Section 1202.4, 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(d)

Second Holding:

Defendant’s appeal from the trial court’s resentencing order causes his judgment to remain nonfinal. Therefore, he is entitled to any applicable ameliorative benefits under section 1465.9.

Authority:

In re Estrada (1965) 63 Cal.2d 740, 745

People v. Hanson (2000) 23 Cal.4th 355, 362 [restitution fines qualify as punishment]