People v. Williams

*603 We confront a direct and widening court conflict over whether defendants who made a plea deal must obtain a certificate of probable cause before asking, on appeal, for a remand for resentencing under Senate Bill No. 1393 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.), which we call SB 1393. The Supreme Court has taken up but not yet decided this conflict. We join with the courts ruling a certificate of probable cause is necessary. We dismiss this appeal because Christopher Williams never tried to obtain a certificate of probable cause. All statutory citations are to the Penal Code.

I

We summarize some factual background.

*604 As part of a plea deal, Williams pleaded no contest to two felony counts of robbery. Williams admitted a strike offense conviction. In May 2018, the trial court sentenced Williams to 30 years and four months in prison. Five of these years were due to a prior serious felony conviction enhancement under section 667, subdivision (a)(1). Without requesting or receiving a certificate of probable cause, Williams filed a notice of appeal on May 31, 2018.

The law changed later in 2018. At the time of sentencing, section 1385(b) prohibited the court from striking any prior…