People v. Superior Court of Riverside County

I.

INTRODUCTION

In this proceeding for extraordinary relief, the People challenge an order of the Superior Court of Riverside County declining to place defendant and real party in interest Leonard Joseph Rangel on community supervision (Pen. Code, § 3451, subd. (a)) following his release from prison. In our original published opinion filed on January 12, 2016 (and modified on Feb. 2 and 4, 2016), we agreed with the superior court’s decision and denied the petition.

The California Supreme Court granted a petition for review filed by the People and subsequently transferred the matter to this court with directions to vacate our prior opinion and to reconsider the cause in light of People v. Morales (2016) 63 Cal.4th 399 [ 203 Cal.Rptr.3d 130 , 371 P.3d 592 ], We then invited the People and Rangel to file supplemental briefs addressing the impact, if any, of People v. Morales on this case.

Our original decision in this case is hereby vacated. Having considered People v. Morales and the supplemental briefs filed by the parties, we now grant the People’s petition.

II.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 1996, Rangel was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm (Pen. Code,…