People v. Perez CA2/5

I. BACKGROUND

In 1987, defendant was convicted of violating Health and Safety Code section 11350, which makes it a felony to possess a controlled substance (the Section 11350 Conviction). He was sentenced to 147 days in county jail and three years on probation. Later, in 1991, he received a sentence of life in prison for a separate federal conviction. Defendant asserts this sentence was “structured and imposed in consideration of” the earlier 1987 conviction. Following enactment of Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act, defendant filed an Application/Petition for Resentencing as authorized by a statutory provision Proposition 47 added to the Penal Code, section 1170.18. The petition asked 1 the superior court to reduce defendant’s Section 11350 Conviction to a misdemeanor. Defendant’s petition revealed he was “[s]erving [a] life sentence due to prior.” The superior court denied defendant’s Petition on August 3, 2015, finding he was ineligible for Proposition 47 relief because he has a prior conviction and is serving a life sentence.

1 In his Petition, defendant states his conviction date is March 27, 1985; however, in his accompanying papers he refers to a 1987…