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Name: People v. Lopez
Case #: F075765
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 5 DCA
Opinion Date: 11/20/2019
Summary

Defendant’s four prior prison term enhancements must be stricken based on Senate Bill No. 136, which applies retroactive to judgments that were not final on January 1, 2020. Lopez received a sentence of 17 years and eight months. Four years were based on four prior prison terms (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b)). Lopez appealed. Held: Prior prison term enhancements stricken. SB 136, which amends section 667.5, subdivision (b), was signed into law on October 8, 2019 and went into effect on January 1, 2020. Under the amendment, a one-year prior prison term enhancement only applies if a defendant served a prior prison term for a sexually violent offense as defined in Welfare and Institutions Code section 6600, subdivision (b). Here, it was undisputed none of Lopez’s four prior prison terms were for sexually violent offenses. The Attorney General also conceded the law applies retroactively to Lopez under In re Estrada (1965) 63 Cal.2d 740, 742, because it was unlikely Lopez’s judgment would be final on January 1, 2020. The Court of Appeal agreed and struck the enhancements without remanding for resentencing because the trial court had already imposed the maximum possible sentence and did not need to exercise any sentencing discretion. [Editor’s Note: In an unpublished portion of the opinion, the court concluded a three-year prior felony drug conviction enhancement pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 11370.2 should also be stricken.]