People v. J.C. (In re J.C.)

• Decision Date: 28 April 2016
• Docket Number: A146103
• Citation: 201 Cal.Rptr.3d 731,246 Cal.App.4th 1462
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: IN RE J.C., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. The People, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. J.C., Defendant and Appellant.

246 Cal.App.4th 1462

201 Cal.Rptr.3d 731

IN RE J.C., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.The People, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.J.C., Defendant and Appellant.

A146103

Court of Appeal, First District, Division 1, California.

Filed April 28, 2016

Melanie Martin del Campo, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Englerand Jeffrey M. Laurence, Assistant Attorneys General, Eric D. Shareand Huy T. Luong, Deputy Attorneys General for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Margulies, J.

In 2012, J.C. (minor) admitted an allegation of second degree burglary by shoplifting, a violation of Penal Code sections 459and 460, subdivision (b)and, at the time, a felony. In November 2014, the electorate passed Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, which reduced several crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Among these was shoplifting, so long as the stolen property was worth less than $950. Proposition 47 also allowed a person serving a felony sentence for a crime reduced to a misdemeanor to petition the court for redesignation of the conviction and a reduction in sentence. Pursuant to this provision, the minor petitioned to reduce her felony violation to a misdemeanor. In addition, the minor sought to have her DNA record expunged from the state databank, on the theory she would not have been required to provide a DNA sample as a misdemeanant. While the juvenile court reduced her violation to a misdemeanor, it declined to order expungement of the minor's DNA record.

We affirm the denial of the minor's request for DNA record expungement. Since the filing of the minor's request, the Legislature has enacted Assembly Bill No. 1492 (2015–2016 Reg. Sess.) (hereafter Bill No. 1492), which prohibits the granting of a request for expungement in connection with a petition for recall of sentence under Proposition 47. Because Bill No. 1492 clarifies, rather than changes, the meaning of the relevant provisions of Proposition 47, the bill precludes the granting of requests for expungement made prior to its enactment.

I. BACKGROUND

The minor was made a ward of the juvenile court pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602in 2012, after she admitted committing second degree burglary by shoplifting, a felony at the time. (Pen.Code,¹§§ 459, 460, subd. (b).) In connection with that admission, the minor was required to submit a DNA sample to the state's databank.

In June 2015, the minor filed a petition seeking relief under section 1170.18, which had been enacted the prior year by the passage of Proposition 47. Among other changes to California criminal law, Proposition 47 reduced several crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, including the shoplifting of property valued at less than $950. (See §§ 459.5, 490.2.) Under section 1170.18, any person "currently serving a sentence" for one of the crimes reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor by Proposition 47 is permitted to petition for a recall of sentence. (§ 1170.18, subd. (a).) Upon receipt of such a petition, the trial court must reduce the defendant's conviction to a misdemeanor and resentence him or her under the amended statute, unless the court determines the change would pose an unreasonable risk to public safety. (§ 1170.18, subd. (b).) In her petition, the minor argued the value of shoplifted property underlying her violation was less than $950, entitling her to a redesignation of the violation from a felony to a misdemeanor, a reduction in her maximum term of confinement to six months, and expungement of the record of the DNA sample she was required to provide.²

The juvenile court granted the petition in part, redesignating her violation and reducing her maximum term of confinement, but the court declined her request for expungement of the DNA record. The court relied on Coffey v. Superior Court (2005) 129 Cal.App.4th 809, 29 Cal.Rptr.3d 59(Coffey ) in concluding Proposition 47 does not require expungement, despite the reduction of the minor's violation from a felony to a misdemeanor.³

Since the juvenile court's denial of the minor's request for expungement of her DNA record, there have been two legal developments of note. At the time of the court's ruling, there was no published appellate decision bearing on the expungement of DNA records under section 1170.18. That changed on July 23, 2015, when the Fourth Appellate District issued Alejandro N. v. Superior Court (2015) 238 Cal.App.4th 1209, 189 Cal.Rptr.3d 907(Alejandro N. ), which holds that a minor is entitled to expungement of his or her DNA record when the minor's violation is reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor under section 1170.18, assuming there is no other reason to retain the record. ( Alejandro N. , at pp. 1229–1230, 189 Cal.Rptr.3d 907.)⁴ Second, on October 4, 2015, the Governor signed Bill No. 1492. (Stats. 2015, ch. 487.) Among other things, Bill No. 1492 amended section 299, which governs the expungement of DNA records, by inserting a reference to section 1170.18 into a list of statutes that do not authorize a judge to relieve a person of the duty to provide a DNA sample.

II. DISCUSSION

Relying on Alejandro N., the minor contends the juvenile court was required to grant the request to expunge her DNA record. The Attorney General argues Alejandro N. was wrongly decided, and, in any event, Bill No. 1492 represents a legislative declaration that section 1170.18 was never intended to authorize expungement. We need not address the validity of Alejandro N. because we conclude Bill No. 1492 requires the denial of the minor's request for expungement.

A. Governing Law

1. Proposition 47

The voters enacted Proposition 47 on November 4, 2014, effective the next day. (Cal. Const., art. II, § 10, subd. (a); People v. Lynall (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 1102, 1108, 183 Cal.Rptr.3d 129(Lynall ).) As summarized by the Legislative Analyst, the proposition "reduces penalties for certain offenders convicted of nonserious and nonviolent property and drug crimes" and "allows certain offenders who have been previously convicted of such crimes to apply for reduced sentences." (Voter Information Guide, Gen. Elec. (Nov. 4, 2014) analysis by the Legis. Analyst of Prop. 47, p. 35 (Ballot Pamphlet).) One of those "nonserious and nonviolent property and drug crimes" is shoplifting, so long as the value of the stolen property is less than $950. (Ballot Pamphlet, supra, text of Prop. 47, § 5, p. 71.) The purpose of this and other similar changes was "to ensure that prison spending is focused on violent and serious offenses [and] to maximize alternatives for nonserious, nonviolent crime." (Ballot Pamphlet, supra, text of Prop. 47, § 2, p. 70.)

Proposition 47 also added section 1170.18 (Ballot Pamphlet, supra, text of Prop. 47, § 14, pp. 73–74), which provides a remedy for persons previously convicted of a felony "who would have been guilty of a misdemeanor under [Proposition 47]" had it been in effect at the time of their offense. (§ 1170.18, subd. (a).) Under section 1170.18, subdivision (a), a person "currently serving a sentence" for such a conviction "may petition for a recall of sentence" and "request resentencing" in accordance with the statutes as amended by Proposition 47. Section 1170.18, subdivision (b) specifies the procedure for a trial court to follow upon receiving such a petition. If the trial court finds "the petitioner satisfies the criteria in subdivision (a), the petitioner's felony sentence shall be recalled and the petitioner resentenced to a misdemeanor ..., unless the court, in its discretion, determines that resentencing the petitioner would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety."

Section 1170.18, subdivision (k) imposes only one qualification on the recall of these felony convictions: "Any felony conviction that is recalled and resentenced under subdivision (b) ... shall be considered a misdemeanor for all purposes, except that such resentencing shall not permit that person to own, possess, or have in his or her custody or control any firearm or prevent his or her conviction [for being a felon in possession of a firearm]."

2. DNA Collection

California law requires the collection of tissue samples for DNA analysis from all persons convicted of felonies (§§ 295, 296, subd. (a)(1)), adults arrested or charged with a felony (§ 296, subd. (a)(2)(C)), and all persons required to register as a sex or arson offender as a result of the commission of a felony or misdemeanor (id. subd. (a)(3)). Except as provided in section 296, subdivision (a)(3), persons convicted solely of misdemeanors are not required to provide DNA samples. (Alejandro N., supra , 238 Cal.App.4th at p. 1227, 189 Cal.Rptr.3d 907.)

Under section 299, a person can obtain expungement of his or her DNA records from the databank "if the person has no past or present offense or pending charge which qualifies that person for inclusion within the [DNA collection program] and there otherwise is no legal basis for retaining" the records. (Id. subd. (a).) Among other circumstances, a request for expungement may be made if a felony arrestee is not timely charged, a qualifying conviction is reversed and the charges dismissed, or a person is acquitted of a qualifying offense. (Id. subd. (b).)

Prior to the enactment of Bill No. 1492, former section 299, subdivision (f) stated: "Notwithstanding any other law, including Sections 17, 1203.4, and 1203.4a, a judge is not authorized to relieve a person of the separate administrative duty to provide [a DNA sample] if a person has been found guilty or was adjudicated a ward of the court by a trier of fact of a qualifying offense as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 296, or was found not guilty by reason of insanity or pleads no contest to a qualifying offense as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 296." Section 299, subdivision (f) (hereafter section 299(f)) has been interpreted to preclude a defendant from obtaining expungement of his or her...