People v. Florez

• Decision Date: 14 March 2016
• Docket Number: H040327
• Citation: 200 Cal.Rptr.3d 419,245 Cal.App.4th 1176
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. John Paul FLOREZ, Defendant and Appellant.

245 Cal.App.4th 1176

200 Cal.Rptr.3d 419

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.John Paul FLOREZ, Defendant and Appellant.

H040327

Court of Appeal, Sixth District, California.

Filed March 14, 2016

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Catherine A. Rivlin, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Allen R. Crown, Deputy Attorney General, Counsel for Plaintiff/Respondent.

Under appointment by the Court of Appeal, Michael Satris, Bolinas, Counsel for Defendant/Appellant.

Premo, J.Defendant John Paul Florez is currently serving a "Three Strikes" sentence. Following the passage of Proposition 36, the Three Strikes Reform Act, he filed a petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.126.¹ Although he was eligible to be resentenced based on his current and past offenses, the trial court exercised its discretion to find that resentencing him "would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety" (§ 1170.126, subd. (f)) and denied his petition. Defendant appealed. For the reasons set forth below we find no merit in any of defendant's arguments on appeal and affirm the order denying his petition.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 1998, police officers saw defendant urinating behind a convenience store in San Jose. Officers believed defendant dropped something on the ground. Shortly thereafter, officers discovered a small bag containing 0.19 grams of cocaine near where defendant had been standing. Officers also determined that defendant was under the influence of opiates and cocaine.

In 1999, defendant pleaded guilty to a felony for possession of a cocaine base and a misdemeanor for being under the influence. He also admitted he had been convicted of four prior strike convictions within the meaning of the former Three Strikes Law and that he had served three prior prison terms. Following his plea, the trial court sentenced defendant to a term of 25 years to life and an additional three years for his prior prison terms.

Defendant's prior strike convictions were for robbery. In 1990, defendant put a knife to a victim's throat, pulled the victim out of a car, beat the victim, and took the victim's car. In 1983, defendant placed a knife to the throat of a 7–Eleven store employee and demanded money. In 1976, defendant robbed two different convenience stores.

On January 14, 2013, defendant filed a petition for resentencing under section 1170.126. At the time he filed the petition, defendant was 63 years old and had served 15 years of his prison sentence.

The People opposed defendant's petition, conceding that his offenses rendered him eligible for resentencing under section 1170.126but arguing that resentencing him would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety. Attached to the People's opposition were defendant's prison records, which reflected that he had been involved in fights and altercations while incarcerated. The latest incident involving violence took place in 2009.

On October 18, 2013, defendant filed a response to the People's opposition to his petition for resentencing. In his response, defendant argued that the dangerousness finding must be submitted to a jury.

On October 22, 2013, the court held a hearing and heard evidence and argument regarding defendant's petition.² Defendant had an expert testify that recidivism reduces with age, and the recidivism rate of a third strike inmate of defendant's age was about 1 percent. Defendant had not abused substances since his incarceration. He had also been accepted into a transitional program. One of defendant's relatives spoke during the hearing, describing that defendant would receive support if resentenced and released.

Afterwards, the court denied defendant's petition, finding that resentencing him would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety. The court noted that defendant had broken rules in prison and had been involved in fights and altercations, even after he was considered elderly. Further, the court asserted that it was especially troubling that it appeared that defendant had not participated in programming to address his problem areas, such as anger management or substance abuse. Defendant appealed.

DISCUSSION

1. Petition for Resentencing

a. Statutory Background

In November 2012, California voters approved Proposition 36, the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 (hereafter the Reform Act). Prior to the passage of Proposition 36, the former Three Strikes law (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12) mandated that a defendant who is convicted of two prior serious or violent felonies would be subject to a sentence of 25 years to life upon conviction of a third felony. The Reform Act amended the three strikes law. Now, section 1170.12, subdivision (c)(2)(C) and section 667, subdivision (e)(2)(C) provide that a defendant with two or more strikes who is convicted of a felony that is neither serious nor violent be sentenced as a second strike offender, unless certain exceptions apply.

The Reform Act also added section 1170.126, which allows eligible inmates who are currently subject to 25–years–to–life sentences under the former three strikes law to petition the court for resentencing. "Section 1170.126, subdivisions (a)and (b), broadly describe who is eligible to file a petition and to be resentenced. Subdivision (a) of section 1170.126states: 'The resentencing provisions under this section and related statutes are intended to apply exclusively to persons presently serving an indeterminate term of imprisonment pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1170.12, whose sentence under this act would not have been an indeterminate life sentence. ' " (Teal v. Superior Court (2014) 60 Cal.4th 595, 598, 179 Cal.Rptr.3d 365, 336 P.3d 686.) "Subdivision (b) of section 1170.126states: 'Any person serving an indeterminate term of life imprisonment imposed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1170.12 upon conviction, whether by trial or plea, of a felony or felonies that are not defined as serious and/or violent felonies by subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 or subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7, may file a petition for a recall of sentence ....' " (Id. at p. 599, 179 Cal.Rptr.3d 365, 336 P.3d 686.)

An eligible prisoner "shall be resentenced" as a second strike offender unless the court determines that resentencing him or her "would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety." (§ 1170.126, subd. (f).) In exercising its discretion under section 1170.126, subdivision (f), the trial court may consider various factors including the petitioner's criminal conviction history, disciplinary record and record of rehabilitation while incarcerated, and "[a]ny other evidence the court ... determines to be relevant...." (Id. subd. (g)(3).)

b. Scope of the Court's Discretion

On appeal, defendant argues that the court erred when it denied his petition for resentencing, because it failed to understand that section 1170.126creates a presumption in favor of reducing an eligible petitioner's sentence. Defendant also claims that the court erred when it failed to consider the limits on its discretion imposed by the Reform Act, which he argues created a new sentencing norm.

Section 1170.126, subdivision (f)states in pertinent part that "the petitioner shall be resentenced pursuant to [a second-strike term] unless the court, in its discretion, determines that resentencing the petitioner would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety." (Italics added.) Defendant maintains that "[s]ome statutes contain express qualifications delineating, and thereby restricting, the particular exercise of discretion" (People v. Superior Court (Alvarez ) (1997) 14 Cal.4th 968, 977, 60 Cal.Rptr.2d 93, 928 P.2d 1171); therefore, the "shall/unless" language establishes a presumption in favor of resentencing a petitioner that can only be overcome if the court finds the petitioner would present an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety.

In part, defendant cites to statutes relating to the grant or denial of parole. He argues that In re Rosenkrantz (2002) 29 Cal.4th 616, 654, 128 Cal.Rptr.2d 104, 59 P.3d 174held that there was a statutory presumption in favor of parole based on the "shall/unless" language in section 3041. Section 3041 states that the board "shall set a release date [for the inmate] unless it determines that the gravity of the current convicted offense or offenses, or the timing and gravity of current or past convicted offense or offenses, is such that consideration of the public safety requires a more lengthy period of incarceration for this individual, and that a parole date, therefore, cannot be fixed at this meeting." (§ 3041, subd. (b).)

To an extent, we disagree with defendant's interpretation of Rosenkrantz and section 3041. The statutes and regulations governing parole create a presumption in favor of parole in part because of the Legislature's conclusion that those prisoners who have served their minimum parole eligibility terms are "normally" entitled to a parole date unless parole poses an unreasonable risk to public safety. (§ 3041, subd. (a).) Therefore, we disagree with defendant's interpretation that Rosenkrantz concluded that, by itself, the "shall/unless" construction used in section 3041 created a presumption in favor of parole.

Additionally, we find that defendant's interpretation of the "shall/unless" statutory construction was recently rejected by our Supreme Court in People v. Gutierrez (2014) 58 Cal.4th 1354, 171 Cal.Rptr.3d 421, 324 P.3d 245, which analyzed similar language located in section 190.5, the juvenile life without parole statute. The Gutierrez court stated: "Contrary to [People v. Guinn (1994) 28 Cal.App.4th 1130, 33 Cal.Rptr.2d 791], ... our review of the text and history of section 190.5[, subdivision] (b) does not lead us to conclude that the statute...