In Re Tate

The Department of Corrections (Department) appeals the lower court’s granting a writ of habeas corpus to inmate, Breonne Tate. During Tate’s incarceration on a four-year six-month prison term for a violent felony, Tate was convicted of a nonviolent in-prison offense and sentenced to a fully consecutive two-year term. Because the four-year six-month term was for a violent felony, the Department applied Penal Code section 2933. l’s limitation on credits to the terms on both convictions. The trial court partially granted Tate’s petition for writ, finding the statute’s limitation applied only to the four-year six-month term attributable to the violent felony. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On July 13, 2001, Tate was convicted in Los Angeles County of attempted robbery, with a finding that he personally used a firearm (§§ 211, 664, 12022.5, subd. (a)(1)). Tate was sentenced to four years and six months in state prison. The finding that Tate personally used a firearm in committing the attempted robbery makes the crime a “violent felony” within the meaning of section 667.5, subdivision (c)(9). This in turn triggers the application of section 2933.1, subdivision…