BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 249|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 249
          Author:   Obernolte (R)
          Amended:  4/13/15 in Assembly
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE:  7-0, 6/9/15
           AYES:  Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 4/23/15 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote

           SUBJECT:   Criminal courts: appeals: fees


          SOURCE:    Judicial Council
          
          DIGEST:   This bill requires a defendant to make a motion in the  
          trial court before filing an appellate brief alleging only  
          errors in the imposition or calculation of fines, fees, and  
          assessments.  

          ANALYSIS: 
           
          Existing law:

          1)Provides that either party in a felony case may appeal on  
            questions of law alone. (Penal Code § 1235) 

          2)Allows a defendant to appeal a final judgment of conviction,  
            subject to a few limitations, and from any order made after  
            judgment affecting the defendant's substantial rights. (Penal  








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            Code § 1237) 

          3)Defines a "final judgment" for purposes of appeal as "[a]  
            sentence, an order granting probation, or the commitment of  
            the defendant for insanity, the indeterminate commitment of a  
            defendant as a mentally disordered sex offender, or the  
            commitment of a defendant for controlled substance addiction."  
            (Penal Code §1237 (a))

          4)Provides that a defendant cannot appeal from a judgment of  
            conviction on the ground of an error in the calculation of  
            presentence custody credits, unless the defendant first  
            presents the claim in the trial court at the time of  
            sentencing, or if the error is not discovered until after  
            sentencing, the defendant first makes a motion for correction  
            of the record in the trial court. (Penal Code § 1237.1) 

          5)Limits the issues a defendant can appeal in a guilty plea  
            case, unless he or she obtains a certificate of probable  
            cause. (Penal Code § 1237.5) 

          6)Allows the prosecution to appeal certain specified orders,  
            such as a motion to dismiss, and order granting a new trial,  
            and an unauthorized sentence. (Penal Code § 1238) 

          This bill:

          1)Provides that an appeal may not be taken solely on the ground  
            of an error in the imposition or calculation of fines, penalty  
            assessments, surcharge, fees or costs unless the defendant  
            first presents the claim in the trial court at the time of  
            sentencing, or if the error is not discovered until after  
            sentencing, the defendant first makes a motion for correction  
            in the trial court, which may be informally in writing. 

          2)Provides that the trial court retains jurisdiction after a  
            notice of appeal has been filed to correct any error in the  
            imposition or calculation of fines, penalty assessments,  
            surcharges, fees or costs upon the defendant's request for  
            correction.

          3)Clarifies that a request to correct presentence custody  
            credits in the trial court may be made informally in writing. 








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          4)Provides that the trial court retains jurisdiction after a  
            notice of appeal has been filed to correct any error in the  
            calculation of presentence custody credits upon the  
            defendant's request for correction.

          Background
          
          As a general rule a trial court loses jurisdiction to vacate its  
          own judgment once a party files a notice of appeal, thus  
          shifting jurisdiction over the case to the Court of Appeal.  
          (People v. Alanis (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 1467, 1472.)  The  
          appellate court maintains jurisdiction of the case until the  
          appeal is determined and the remittitur has issued.  The purpose  
          of this rule "'is to protect the appellate court's jurisdiction  
          by preserving the status quo until the appeal is decided.  The  
          rule prevents the trial court from rendering an appeal futile by  
          altering the appealed judgment.'" (Ibid., quoting Townsel v.  
          Superior Court (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1084, 1089.")   

          This bill clarifies that the trial court retains jurisdiction to  
          correct any error in the calculation of presentence credits or  
          the imposition or calculation of fines, penalty assessments,  
          surcharges, fees or costs upon the defendant's request for  
          corrections.

          In People v. Clavel (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 516, 519, the Court  
          of Appeal dismissed an appeal because the sole issue raised was  
          whether the trial court had miscalculated the credits and no  
          formal motion had been filed. In Clavel, appellate counsel had  
          filed an informal request for correction of credits before  
          raising the issue on appeal, but the trial court failed to act  
          on the request. (Id. at p. 518.)  Because section 1237.1  
          requires the defendant to "make a motion" in the trial court, an  
          informal request is not a motion, and an appeal raising a  
          credits issue without such a motion is subject to dismissal.   
          While the Clavel court expressly condoned the informal procedure  
          to the extent that it gets the desired result, it held that if  
          no action is taken by the superior court, counsel must proceed  
          to make a formal motion. (Id. at p. 519.)  This bill specifies  
          that as to "motions" to correct either presentence credits or  
          errors in the imposition or calculation of fines and fees, the  
          requests may be made informally in writing. 

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  







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          Com.:YesLocal:   No

          SUPPORT:   (Verified 6/22/15)

          Judicial Council (source)
          California District Attorneys Association
          California Judges Association

          OPPOSITION:   (Verified 6/22/15)

          None received


          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 4/23/15
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,  
            Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,  
            Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina  
            Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,  
            Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,  
            Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,  
            Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,  
            Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,  
            Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,  
            Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Campos, Salas

          Prepared by:Mary Kennedy / PUB. S. / 
          6/24/15 16:03:28


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