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Name: People v. Beard
Case #: C066320
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 3 DCA
Opinion Date: 07/13/2012
Summary

A Health and Safety Code section 11370.2 enhancement for a prior drug conviction is not subject to the one-third limit of Penal Code section 1170.1. Appellant was convicted of several offenses and sentenced to an aggregate term of 22 years in state prison. The term included a drug offense plus an enhancement pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 11370.2. The consecutive penalty for the drug offense was calculated at one-third the middle term pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.1, subdivision (a), with the drug enhancement imposed to run full-term consecutive, for an additional three years. Affirmed. Health and Safety Code section 11370.2 is a status enhancement related to the offender, as compared to an enhancement related to the manner of the commission of the crime. The latter falls within the provisions of section 1170.1, subdivision (a), such that a consecutive sentence will be calculated at one-third. The status enhancement, on the other hand, does not fall within section 1170.1 and a consecutive sentence will be full-term.