People v. Patterson CA5

DISCUSSION

Generally, section 1237.5 precludes an appeal from the judgment entered after a guilty plea unless the defendant applies for, and the trial court grants the defendant, a certificate of probable cause. Without a certificate of probable cause, the issues raised by the defendant 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 (Mendez); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.304(b)(4).) The reason for this rule requiring a certificate of probable cause is to promote judicial economy by refusing to review frivolous guilty plea appeals before time and money are spent. (Mendez, supra, 19 Cal.4th at p. 1095.) A court of appeal “generally may not proceed to the merits of the appeal, but must order dismissal thereof, unless the

3. defendant has filed a statement of certificate grounds as an…