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Name: People v. Statum
Case #: B142079
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 5
Opinion Date: 05/08/2001
Subsequent History: Rev. granted 7/25/01 as S097715
Summary

The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it reduced appellant’s conviction for a violation of Vehicle Code section 2800.2, subdivision (a), to a misdemeanor, thereby prohibiting the imposition of his six prior “strikes” and a life sentence. The trial court indicated that it did not believe that the facts in the preliminary hearing transcript supported sentencing appellant’s violation as a felony. The prosecution appealed from the trial court’s sentencing order. The appellate court here dismissed the appeal. The prosecution may appeal an unauthorized sentence. Here, the offense was a wobbler, and neither reduction of the offense to a misdemeanor nor the sentence was unauthorized. The trial court’s failure to make its discretionary sentencing choices does not result in an unauthorized sentence.