People v. Black

Defendant, Michael Black, appeals from his conviction based upon his nolo contendere plea to a felonious aggravated assault charge. In the published portion of this opinion, we discuss issues arising from the failure to commence a retrial within the time period specified by a district court when it conditionally granted defendant’s federal habeas corpus petition. We conclude the nolo contendere plea may not be set aside even though it was entered after the expiration of the time permitted for a retrial specified by a district court when it conditionally granted defendant’s federal habeas corpus petition.

Defendant was charged with committing various felony offenses on June 29, 1995. Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(1).) The trial court found that defendant had previously been convicted of a serious felony. (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(d), 1170.12.) Defendant was sentenced on December 13, 1995, to 11 years in state prison. In the unpublished opinion of People v. Black (Feb. 24, 1997, B099656), we affirmed the judgment. On June 1, 1999, defendant filed a habeas corpus petition in the United States…