People v. Graves CA3

I. BACKGROUND

In 1985, the People charged defendant with three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 14 (Penal Code, § 288, subd. (a))1 as to three different victims, M.C., D.F., and J.S. Defendant ultimately pled guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct, as to M.C. and D.F., and sodomy (§ 286, subd. (b)(1)) as to J.S. Regarding the count of lewd and lascivious conduct with D.F., the People provided the following factual basis: “[B]etween the dates of December 1st, 1974, and June 7th, 1985, within the County of Sacramento, the defendant engaged in lewd and lascivious acts with [D.F.], a person born [in] January . . . 1970.” The trial court suspended imposition of sentence and placed defendant on four years’ probation. In 2024, defendant filed a motion in propria persona to vacate the judgment, arguing that the 1985 judgment was void because D.F. was not under the age of 14 at the time of the offense. The trial court denied the motion, explaining that it had “no jurisdiction to entertain a motion for resentencing initiated by defendant.” Defendant timely appealed.

II. DISCUSSION

In his supplemental brief, defendant argues the trial court…