Court of Appeal has jurisdiction where a defendant was charged with a felony and the offense was ultimately reduced to a misdemeanor pursuant to Proposition 47 as part of plea negotiations. An information charged Lynall with felony possession of methamphetamine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11377) and two misdemeanors. Shortly thereafter, Proposition 47 passed and the trial court amended the information to reflect that the methamphetamine possession charge “is now, by operation of law a misdemeanor.” Lynall then pled guilty to that offense and the two other misdemeanors were dismissed. The court imposed a conditional sentence with Proposition 36 probation. Lynall appealed to the appellate division of the superior court, but the clerk believed this was an error and sent the notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal asked the parties to brief whether it or the appellate division had jurisdiction over the appeal. Held: The Court of Appeal possesses jurisdiction. In this companion case to People v. Rivera (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 1085, the court considered the issue of appellate jurisdiction in Proposition 47 cases in a different procedural context. This case did not involve either resentencing or the designation of a prior felony conviction as a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 1170.18 (Prop. 47). Instead, the parties agreed that Lynall’s charge would be reduced to a misdemeanor pursuant to Proposition 47 as part of a plea agreement. After examining the relevant statutes and rules (Pen. Code, §§ 691, 17, subd. (b); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.304), the appellate court concluded that Lynall’s case was a “felony case” for purposes of appellate jurisdiction. The information charged Lynall with a felony and, although his offense was ultimately reduced to a misdemeanor as part of plea negotiations and declared a misdemeanor by the trial court, it still meets the rule 8.304(a)(2)(C) definition of a felony case.
Case Summaries