People v. Brown
People v. Brown
Opinion of the Court
*1174In accordance with a plea bargain, defendant Karen Renee Brown pleaded guilty to one count of receiving stolen property in violation of Penal Code
In this appeal, the People contend the trial court erred by granting defendant's petition. According to the People, Proposition 47 should not be interpreted in a manner that permits a defendant to reap the benefit of a plea bargain entered into before Proposition 47 without serving the full sentence she agreed to. The People also argue defendant did not establish she is eligible for resentencing under Proposition 47. Defendant did not show she would have been guilty of a misdemeanor (and consequently she would have been subject to a sentence of no more than one year in county jail), had Proposition 47 been in effect at the time of her offense, because under those circumstances the People would not have dismissed the felony counts that were left undisturbed by the voters. Finally, assuming this court rejects the first two arguments, the People contend defendant breached her obligation under the plea bargain to serve two years in county jail, and the People should be permitted on remand to withdraw from the plea bargain and reinstate the dismissed felony counts.
*1175We affirm. Under the plain language of Proposition 47, certain felony convictions obtained by guilty plea are eligible for resentencing as misdemeanors. While we may be sympathetic with the People's assertion that our reading of Proposition 47 permits some defendants to obtain the full benefits of their plea agreements without fully performing their side of the bargain, nothing in defendant's plea agreement insulated it from changes in the law. We also conclude defendant met her burden of establishing eligibility for resentencing. The People do not contend defendant received property valued at more than $950, such that her conviction under section 496 *792is categorically ineligible for resentencing under Proposition 47, and defendant was not required to demonstrate the People would have offered her the same plea bargain had Proposition 47 been in effect when she committed her crimes. We also conclude the People are not entitled to withdraw from the plea bargain and to reinstate the dismissed counts because Proposition 47 had the limited effect of reducing defendant's sentence-she remains convicted. Finally, we direct the trial court on remand to either order defendant to serve a one-year term of parole as mandated by section 1170.18, subdivision (d), or to exercise its discretion to release defendant from parole.
I.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
The People charged defendant by felony complaint with three counts of receiving stolen property (§ 496, subd. (a), counts 1-3), and three counts of identity theft (§ 530.5, subd. (a), counts 4-6). At her arraignment, defendant agreed to plead guilty to count 1 in exchange for the dismissal of counts 2 through 6 and a sentencing recommendation from the People of two years in county jail. Defendant pleaded guilty to count 1 and admitted to receiving stolen mail. The trial court found a factual basis for defendant's guilty plea and subsequently sentenced defendant to two years in county jail with 80 days of pretrial and good conduct credit.
One month after her sentencing, defendant filed a petition in the superior court requesting that she be resentenced to misdemeanor receipt of stolen property pursuant to Proposition 47. In response, the People requested a hearing to determine whether they could withdraw from the plea agreement with defendant. The People argued defendant was not entitled to resentencing under Proposition 47 because she agreed as part of her plea bargain to serve two years in county jail. Defendant, through her attorney, the public defender, replied the People could not withdraw from the plea agreement and reinstate the dismissed counts because a plea agreement incorporates and contemplates changes in the law, such as Proposition 47.
*1176At the hearing, the prosecutor requested leave to withdraw from the plea bargain "because we didn't get the benefit of our deal." The trial court paraphrased defendant's argument as, "well, it wasn't her breaking the deal, it was the voters that did it." The trial court responded to the prosecutor, "we have some analogies in Megan's Law and in three strikes and SVP, so, yeah, I realize sometimes the Legislature and voters change things up on the parties and we don't know which side it's going to affect...." The court therefore granted the petition and resentenced defendant to 364 days in county jail and credit for time served.
The People timely appealed.
*793II.
DISCUSSION
A.
The voters adopted Proposition 47 on November 4, 2014, and it went into effect the next day. (Cal. Const., art. II, § 10, subd. (a).) "Proposition 47 makes certain drug- and theft-related offenses misdemeanors, unless the offenses were committed by certain ineligible defendants. These offenses had previously been designated as either felonies or wobblers (crimes that can be punished as either felonies or misdemeanors)." (People v. Rivera, supra, 233 Cal.App.4th at p. 1091,
There is no dispute that a conviction for receiving stolen property with a value of $950 or less is now a misdemeanor, and that, unless otherwise disqualified, a defendant currently serving a sentence for such a conviction is eligible for resentencing under Proposition 47. (§§ 496, subd. (a), *11771170.18, subd. (a).) The People do not contend defendant's conviction for receiving stolen mail in violation of section 496, subdivision (a), is categorically excluded for resentencing because, for example, the value of the property in question exceeded $950 or because defendant is otherwise disqualified or unsuitable for resentencing. (See § 1170.18, subds. (b), (c) [court may not resentence defendant if there is an unreasonable risk she will commit a new violent felony], (i) [excluding from resentencing defendants convicted of violent or serious felonies & defendants required to register as sex offenders].) Instead, the People contend defendant is ineligible for resentencing under Proposition 47 because she was convicted by guilty plea.
Whether Proposition 47 applies to defendants convicted by guilty plea is a question of statutory interpretation that we review de novo. (People v. Prunty (2015)
Section 1170.18 unambiguously applies to a defendant "currently serving a sentence for a conviction, whether by trial or plea ...." (§ 1170.18, subd. (a), italics added.) We are not the first court to address whether Proposition 47 applies to defendants convicted by guilty plea. The minor in T.W. v. Superior Court (2015)
The appellate court concluded Proposition 47 "clearly and unambiguously" applies to convictions obtained by guilty plea. (T. W., supra, 236 Cal.App.4th at p. 652,
The People urge us to disagree with T.W. , stating that decision focused solely on the text of section 1170.18 and failed to "address, or even acknowledge, the pre-existing, well-established law ... that prohibits a court from altering the express terms of a plea agreement." The People also contend the voters who adopted Proposition 47 are presumed to be aware of the existing law on plea agreements, and nothing in the text or legislative history of Proposition 47 indicates the voters intended to amend the general law on plea bargaining. We are not convinced.
As the People contend, a negotiated plea bargain is a contract between a defendant and the prosecutor and, if accepted, its terms bind the parties and the trial court. (People v. Segura (2008)
Although the parties and the trial court may not unilaterally alter the terms of a plea bargain, subsequent statutory enactments or amendments adopted by the Legislature or the voters exercising the initiative power may have the effect of altering the terms of the plea bargain. "[T]he general rule in California is that the plea agreement will be ' "deemed to incorporate and contemplate not only the existing law but the reserve power of the state to amend the law or enact additional laws for the public good and in pursuance of public policy...." ' [Citation.] That the parties enter into a plea agreement thus does not have the effect of insulating them from changes in the law that the Legislature has intended to apply to them." (Doe v. Harris (2013)
The People contend Doe v. Harris "explicitly does not apply to express, bargained-for terms of the plea agreement." After the briefing was completed in this case, the Second Appellate District, Division Five, issued its decision in Harris v. Superior Court (2015)
We respectfully disagree with our colleagues that Doe v. Harris is limited to collateral consequences of a plea bargain. The principle articulated in Doe v. Harris is that, unless the parties explicitly or implicitly agree otherwise, a plea bargain is vulnerable to future legislative amendment. (Doe v. Harris, supra, 57 Cal.4th at pp. 66, 71, 73-74,
The People do not contend the plea bargain in this case included an express or implied provision that defendant's two-year sentence would be insulated from future legislative action, and we find no evidence to suggest otherwise. The mere fact defendant agreed to serve two years in county jail in exchange for the dismissal of more serious charges is insufficient evidence that she expressly or implicitly agreed her term of incarceration would be insulated from legislative amendment. Therefore, we conclude Proposition 47 applies to defendant's conviction by guilty plea.
*1180B.
The People also contend the trial court erred by granting defendant's petition because she did not meet her burden of establishing she was eligible for resentencing under Proposition 47. Section 1170.18 applies to defendants currently serving felony sentences "who would have been guilty of a misdemeanor ... had [Proposition 47] been in effect at the time of the offense...." (§ 1170.18, subd. (a).) According to the People, had defendant *796committed her offense after the enactment of Proposition 47, she would not have been guilty solely of a misdemeanor because any plea offer would not have included dismissal of the felony identity theft charges that are ineligible for resentencing under Proposition 47. In support of this argument, the People argue Proposition 47 "necessarily requires the court to consider the underlying facts of a defendant's offenses, not simply the statute of conviction." We disagree.
A defendant who files a petition under Proposition 47 bears the burden of establishing they are eligible for misdemeanor resentencing. (People v. Sherow (2015)
Nor do we agree with the People that, when determining eligibility for resentencing under Proposition 47, the trial court must look to charges that were dismissed as part of the underlying plea agreement. Section 1170.18 addresses convictions for reclassified offenses that, had they been committed after Proposition 47 went into effect, would be punished as misdemeanors. (§ 1170.18, subd. (a).) "Upon receiving a petition under subdivision (a), the court shall determine whether the petitioner satisfies the criteria in subdivision (a)," to wit, whether the defendant was convicted of a reclassified crime. (§ 1170.18, subd. (b).) The trial court has discretion to consider the defendant's criminal history and the underlying facts of the case for the purpose of determining whether resentencing the defendant "would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety." (§ 1170.18, subd. (b); see
Because defendant's conviction is for an offense reclassified by Proposition 47, and there is no indication the property defendant received was worth more than $950, defendant satisfied her burden of demonstrating she was entitled to resentencing.
*797C.
Last, we are not persuaded the People should be permitted on remand to withdraw from the plea bargain and reinstate the dismissed felony identity theft counts because defendant breached her side of the bargain. The decision in People v. Collins (1978)
The Supreme Court held the trial court erred by imposing a sentence because the conduct for which the defendant was convicted was no longer punishable. (Collins, supra, 21 Cal.3d at pp. 212-213,
Next, the Supreme Court addressed whether the People could reinstate the dismissed counts on remand. "Critical to plea bargaining is the concept of reciprocal benefits. When either the prosecution or the defendant is deprived of benefits for which it has bargained, corresponding relief will lie from concessions made." (Collins, supra, 21 Cal.3d at p. 214,
In Harris v. Superior Court, supra,
Again, we must disagree with the majority in Harris v. Superior Court . Notwithstanding some broader language in Collins,
Therefore, on remand, the People may not withdraw from the plea bargain and may not reinstate the dismissed counts.
III.
DISPOSITION
The postjudgment order is affirmed. On remand, the trial court is directed to order defendant to serve a term of parole for one year, unless in its discretion the court orders defendant released from parole. (§ 1170.18, subd. (d).)
We concur:
RAMIREZ, P.J.
HOLLENHORST, J.
All additional statutory references are to the Penal Code.
The People have no right to appeal in a criminal case except as provided by statute. (People v. Williams (2005)
If the trial court grants a petition for resentencing under section 1170.18, subdivision (b), the defendant is "subject to parole for one year following completion of his or her sentence, unless the court, in its discretion, as part of its resentencing order, releases the person from parole." (§ 1170.18, subd. (d).) When it granted defendant's petition for resentencing, the trial court ordered defendant released and directed the clerk of the superior court to provide a copy of the minute order to the county jail. The court did not order defendant to serve a one-year term of parole or exercise its discretion to release her from parole, as mandated by section 1170.18, subdivision (d). We may correct an unauthorized sentence on our own motion, even in the absence of an objection in the trial court. (People v. Scott (1994)
" 'The holding of a decision is limited by the facts of the case being decided, notwithstanding the use of overly broad language by the court in stating the issue before it or its holding or in its reasoning.' [Citation.]" (People v. Jenkins (2010)
We also disagree with the decision in In re Blessing (1982)
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.