People v. Johnson

Defendant, Lavelle Johnson, appeals from a judgment sentencing him to state prison after his probation was revoked on the ground he had committed new offenses. The court gave him credit for the time he spent in presentence custody, but it awarded him no “conduct credits.” (See People v. Sage (1980) 26 Cal.3d 498 [ 165 Cal.Rptr. 280 , 611 P.2d 874 ].) We have concluded that the court correctly denied defendant “good/time” credits, but the matter must be remanded to determine whether defendant is entitled to any “work/time” credits.

The major issue is whether a defendant loses all “conduct credits” because he escaped from jail while in presentence custody, We have concluded that whether a defendant loses all, or merely a portion, of his “good/time” credits is within the discretion of the trial court. A defendant should not automatically be deprived of all “good/time” credits regardless of the point at which, and the circumstances in which, he escaped. Further, a defendant may not be deprived of “work/time” credits for the entire period of his presentence custody merely because he escaped for a portion of that period. Rather, he is to be deprived of such credits only when…