People v. Thomas CA4/2

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On October 1, 2001, defendant was charged with three counts, the unlawful taking

or driving of a vehicle, to-wit, a 1986 Hyundai (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)), and two

counts of forgery (§ 475, subds. (a), (b)). On December 7, 2001, defendant pleaded

guilty to unlawfully taking or driving a vehicle. She was sentenced to the low term of

months in state prison, to run concurrent to another sentence case No. FMB004256.

On May 8, 2015, defendant filed a petition pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.

(Proposition 47), requesting redesignation of her Vehicle Code offense as a misdemeanor

and resentencing. The trial court denied the petition on the ground that defendant was not

All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

Judge Alvarez conducted defendant’s plea hearing on December 7, 2001.

2 eligible for resentencing because unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle is not one of the

crimes specified in section 1170.18.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Proposition 47.

On November 4, 2014, voters enacted Proposition 47, and it went into effect the

next day. (Cal. Const., art. II, § 10, subd. (a).)…