People v. Pifer CA4/2

I. INTRODUCTION

On October 27, 2005, defendant and appellant, Brian Andrew Pifer, pled guilty to

the attempted unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a); Pen.

Code, § 664) with a prior conviction for receipt of a stolen motor vehicle (Pen. Code,

§§ 496d, subd. (a), 666.5), and he admitted one prison prior (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd.

(b)). Defendant was sentenced to state prison for a total of 30 months. Thereafter, the

voters approved Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, which allows

certain defendants convicted of specified theft- or drug-related felonies to petition to have

those convictions treated as misdemeanors. In 2015, after he had served his sentence,

defendant filed a petition for resentencing, requesting that his conviction for attempted

unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle be redesignated a misdemeanor. The trial court

denied defendant’s petition.

On this appeal, defendant contends that “the language of [Proposition 47] and its

intent supports the conclusion that a vehicle theft or an attempt to commit that crime falls

under Proposition 47, where that vehicle is shown to be of a value less than $950.”…