People v. Nguyen CA6

I. INTRODUCTION

$240 was the minimum restitution fine for a felony conviction under Penal Code section 1202.4, subdivision (b)(1)1 in 2012 when defendant Hien Nguyen attempted to murder a coworker at a building supply store by clubbing him once in the back of the head with a drywall hammer. The resulting charges were resolved by a plea agreement. There was no objection at the change of plea hearing when the trial court advised defendant that he would be subject to various fines and fees, including “a restitution fund fine in the minimum amount of $264 and a maximum of $10,000.” There was no objection at the sentencing hearing when the trial court imposed “the minimum. It’s going to be $264,” even though defense counsel had just identified the minimum fine as $240. We may assume defense counsel and the trial court had in mind that section

1 Unspecified section references are to the Penal Code. 1202.4, subdivision (l) authorizes a county to impose a fee of up to 10 percent for the actual administrative cost of collecting a restitution fine, in other words, up to $24 for each $240 collected for a total of $264. On appeal defendant contends that his restitution fine should be $240,…