In Re Taylor
Opinion
Opinion
Rubin, J.
Petitioner Allen Raymond Taylor seeks a writ of habeas corpus directing the trial court to reverse its order incarcerating him for failing to report to his probation officer for a drug test. We shall issue the writ.
Procedural and Factual Background
In May 2001, Allen Raymond Taylor pleaded guilty to felony possession of cocaine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11350, subd. (a)). The court sentenced him to three years of formal probation. As part of probation, the court ordered Taylor to “cooperate with the probation officer in a plan for substance abuse counseling” and to “submit to periodic anti-narcotic tests as directed by the probation officer.”
In July 2001, Proposition 36 (Pen. Code, § 1210.1) took effect. Known as the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000, its purpose is to direct nonviolent drug abusers away from incarceration and toward community-based drug treatment programs. It applies both to future offenders and to past offenders, such as Taylor, who were already on probation for nonviolent drug possession offenses. (§ 1210.1, subd. (e)(3) (D); People v. Davis (2003) 104 Cal.App.4th 1443, 1446 [ 129 Cal.Rptr.2d 48 ].)