Seven years after he was discharged from prison, appellant filed a petition for a certificate of rehabilitation under Penal Code section 4852.01. The trial court denied the petition as premature because it deemed his period of rehabilitation to have begun when he was discharged from parole 5 years ago rather than when he was discharged from prison. The Court of Appeal held the trial court abused its discretion. “The period of rehabilitation commences upon the discharge of the petitioner from custody due to his or her completion of the term to which he or she was sentenced or upon his or her release on parole . . . whichever is sooner.” (§ 4852.03, subd. (a), italics added.) The order denying the petition was reversed and the matter remanded for further proceedings pursuant to section 4852.01.
