People v. Ruiz CA6

BACKGROUND

In 1997, defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 14, in violation of Penal Code section 288, subdivision (a).1 On December 13, 2013, defendant filed a petition for a certificate of rehabilitation pursuant to section 4852.01. The trial court denied defendant’s petition on April 14, 2014. In denying the petition, the trial court explained that section 4852.01, subdivision (d) “declares that those defendants convicted of Penal Code section 288(a)

1 Subsequent unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code. are ineligible for certificates of rehabilitation,” and it rejected the contention that section 4852.01, subdivision (d) violated defendant’s right to equal protection of the law.

DISCUSSION

Defendant asserts that we must reverse the judgment because he was denied equal protection of the law. Specifically, he argues that section 4852.01, subdivision (d) violates equal protection principles because it “absolutely denies the right to petition for a certificate of rehabilitation [to] persons convicted of violating section 288” while “those convicted of a violation of another similar but more serious sex…