BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 249| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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. AB 249 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 AB 249 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 **** END ****