People v. Superior Court

The issue presented in this writ proceeding is whether a defendant who is found to have committed a nonviolent drug possession offense (NDPO) is ineligible to be placed on probation and ordered to drug treatment in accordance with the mandatory provisions of Proposition 36 if, at the time of the commission of the NDPO, he was on probation for other, nonqualifying offenses. We answer this question in the negative and deny the People’s petition to set aside the superior court’s order placing defendant on probation.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In January 2006, Sean Curtis Edwards was charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He pleaded guilty to the current charges after being told by the court that it would place him on probation under Proposition 36 or, if he were ineligible therefor, on probation with any custody time to be served locally. At that time, Edwards was on probation for disobeying a domestic violence restraining order and battery on a peace officer. After briefing and argument on the eligibility issue, the court placed Edwards on probation conditioned on his participation in drug treatment…