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Name: People v. Brewer
Case #: A127746
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 1 DCA
Division: 4
Opinion Date: 02/01/2011
Summary

Defendants who receive indeterminate life sentences are eligible for presentence conduct credit under Penal Code section 4019. Appellant, convicted of two sex offenses, received a sentence of 61 years to life in prison. The court gave him presentence custody credits for actual days of incarceration, but no presentence conduct credits based on the belief these credits were not available to defendants sentenced to an indeterminate life sentence. Appellant argued he was entitled to presentence conduct credits under Penal Code section 4019, although they would be subject to the 15% credit limitation of section 2933.1. The appellate court agreed. Neither statute expressly makes those serving indeterminate terms ineligible. In fact, section 2933.1 implicitly allows for the granting of presentence conduct credits in indeterminate terms since it places limits for those convicted of violent felonies listed in section 667.5, subdivision (c), some of which carry indeterminate terms. Since section 4019 on its face grants presentence conduct credits to all defendants, and neither it nor any other statute create an exception for defendants sentenced to indeterminate terms, such defendant are deemed eligible for presentence conduct credits. (See People v. Philpot (2004) 122 Cal.App.4th 893.)