People v. Rios CA2/3

BACKGROUND

In 2006, Rios pleaded no contest to one count of the sale of methamphetamine (§ 11379, subd. (a)) and one count of the sale or transportation of marijuana (§ 11360, subd. (a)). The trial court sentenced Rios to two concurrent terms of four years in prison. In January 2022, Rios filed an application pursuant to section 11361.8 to redesignate or dismiss his conviction for the sale or transportation of marijuana. The trial court denied the application on the ground that Rios’s conviction for the sale of methamphetamine was not an offense eligible for reduction. Rios timely appealed.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, Rios contends the trial court’s determination that his sale of methamphetamine conviction rendered him ineligible for redesignation under Proposition 64 was erroneous,

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Health and Safety Code.

2 given that his sale of marijuana conviction was an eligible offense. The Attorney General concedes the trial court erred and we agree. Proposition 64 legalized the recreational use of marijuana and reduced the penalties for various marijuana-related charges, including the sale or transportation of marijuana. (§ 11360.) The…