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
AB 249
Page 2
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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Page 3
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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Page 4
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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