Kuhnel
Kuhnel v. Super. Ct.
Opinion
Opinion
DISCUSSION
When Kuhnel was placed on probation, section 1203a provided that courts could suspend the imposition or execution of sentence in misdemeanor cases and “make and enforce . . . terms of probation for a period not to exceed three years,” or longer if the maximum term of imprisonment provided by law exceeded three years. Among the amendments made by Assembly Bill 1950, signed by the Governor on September 30, 2020 and effective January 1, 2021, misdemeanor probation may now not exceed one year, unless the offense provides for a specific probation length, which Kuhnel’s crime did not. (§ 1203a; Stats. 2020, ch. 328, § 1; §§ 487, subd. (a), 489.) Thus, under the
3 new law, Kuhnel could have been ordered to serve no more than one year of probation for her offense. Assembly Bill 1950 also reduced the default maximum probationary term for felonies to two years. (§ 1203.1, subds. (a) & (m); Stats. 2020, ch. 328, § 2.) Kuhnel contends that these amendments apply retroactively and that, as a result, her probation ended as a matter of law on November 17, 2017 and the court no longer has jurisdiction over her.