People v. Rubio CA3

BACKGROUND

In 1991, defendant was charged with grand theft for the act of stealing a boat motor. He pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced later that year to serve a three-year prison term. Defendant initialed a section of the plea form allowing the trial court to take the factual basis of the plea from “probation reports, police reports or other source as deemed necessary.” According to the probation report, on June 7, 1991, defendant and another man stole the motor from a boat that was parked on a street with a “For Sale” sign attached. The victim reported the motor was worth $1,500. In December 2014, defendant filed an application for designation of the theft offense as a misdemeanor. The trial court denied the motion, finding defendant was ineligible because the motor he stole was worth $1,500.

DISCUSSION

I Trial Court’s Denial of Defendant’s Application The passage of Proposition 47 created section 1170.18, which provides: “A person who has completed his or her sentence for a conviction, whether by trial or plea, of a felony or felonies who would have been guilty of a misdemeanor under this act had this act been in effect at the time of the offense, may file an…