People v. Sharp CA4/3

FACTS

On October 27, 2017, defendant pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of sale. Defendant was placed on probation. Defendant’s probation was revoked on December 6, 2017. Defendant’s probation was reinstated on August 3, 2018, revoked again August 28, 2018, and reinstated again on February 6, 2020. In October 2020, defendant was again arrested for “possession of 12- 24 pounds of methamphetamine.” On October 9, 2020, the trial court summarily revoked defendant’s probation and set the matter for a formal revocation hearing. Around the same time as the last summary revocation of defendant’s probation, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill No. 1950 (2019-2020 Reg. Sess.) (Assembly Bill No. 1950) which became effective January 1, 2021. (Stats. 2020, ch. 328, § 2.) Assembly Bill No. 1950 (among other things) amended Penal Code section 1203.

2 to restrict most felony probation to a two-year maximum period. (Stats. 2020, ch. 328, § 2; People v. Sims (2021) 59 Cal.App.5th 943, 956.) This change was quickly deemed retroactive (see, e.g., Sims, at p. 964), but the law contained no express provision for automatic termination of probation at the end of two years…