People v. White CA3

DISCUSSION

At sentencing, after imposing a two-year prison term, the court said, “You’re ordered to pay restitution fine in the amount of -- that would be different now. That would be what, $600?” The probation officer responded, “I’m sorry, Your Honor. Uhm, yes, it would be.” Without objection, the court imposed a $600 restitution fine and a corresponding parole fine in the same amount. When defendant committed his offense in 2012, the minimum restitution fine was $240 and the maximum fine was $10,000. (§ 1202.4, subd. (b)(1).) Defendant contends the record thus affirmatively reflects that the trial court misunderstood its discretion in imposing the restitution and parole fines and used $300 as the statutory minimum multiplied by two for the number of years in state prison imposed for the offense. As a result, defendant claims that the court imposed unauthorized fines which violated the ex post facto clause of the federal Constitution. He claims the fines should be reduced to $480, using the statutory minimum in effect at the time of his offense ($240) multiplied by two, or that the matter should be remanded for the trial court to reassess the fines. The People argue that…