People v. Arias CA4/2

FACTS

In August 2014, Arias pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11377, subd. (a)). As part of a negotiated plea deal, Arias agreed to serve 16 months in prison and the prosecution agreed to dismiss Arias’s prior conviction and prison term allegations. The trial court sentenced Arias to the low term of 16 months in prison. On November 4, 2014, the voters enacted Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act (the Act), which became effective the following day. (See Pen. Code, § 1170.18, all further statutory references are to the Penal Code.) On January 29, 2015, Arias was released on postrelease community supervision (PRCS). The following month, Arias filed a petition to be resentenced pursuant to section 1170.18. At a hearing on the petition, Arias’s counsel requested the trial court grant the petition pursuant to section 1170.18, subdivision (f), and not section 1170.18,

2 subdivision (a), because Arias was on PRCS and had completed his sentence. Counsel also argued his excess credits should be applied to his period of parole. The trial court ruled as follows: “[The court] find[s] that you are still serving…