People v. Cotey CA5

DISCUSSION

Cotey’s notice of appeal limits the issues that we may address because section 1237.5 precludes an appeal from the judgment entered after a guilty plea unless the defendant applies for, and the trial court grants, a certificate of probable cause. Without a certificate of probable cause, any issues raised by the defendant generally are not reviewable. (People v. Sem (2014) 229 Cal.App.4th 1176, 1187.) There are two exceptions to this general rule. A defendant does not need a certificate of probable cause to appeal when the appeal addresses postplea matters not challenging the plea’s validity, or when the issue is the lawfulness of a search or seizure that was first contested in the trial court before the defendant entered a plea. (People v. Mendez (1999) 19 Cal.4th 1084, 1096; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.304(b)(4).) In response to our June 20, 2014, letter, Cotey asserts three errors occurred in the trial court. The first two, whether the crime to which Cotey pled should have been a misdemeanor because the value of the property was less than $950 and the prosecutor “threatened” Cotey’s constitutional right to a speedy trial, are not cognizable because

3. they challenge…