Porter

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

After a police officer cited Porter for violating section 23123.5(a), he contested the citation. A trial was held before a Santa Clara County Superior Court traffic commissioner, where both Porter and the police officer agreed Porter was looking at a mapping application on his cellular telephone while holding the phone in his left hand and driving. Porter argued viewing a mapping application while driving did not violate section 23123.5 because the statute prohibited only listening and talking on a handheld phone. (People v. Spriggs (2014) 224 Cal.App.4th 150 (Spriggs) [reviewing section 23123, subd. (a)].) The traffic commissioner subsequently found Porter guilty of violating section 23123.5(a) and ordered him to pay a $158 fine. Porter timely appealed his conviction to the appellate division of the superior court. He argued he was not “operating” a wireless telephone in violation of section 23123.5 when holding and looking at the mapping application on his phone because “operating” requires active manipulation. The prosecution argued the plain meaning of the statute, legislative history, and public policy confirmed Porter was “operating” his…