People v. Brown CA4/1

I. INTRODUCTION

The People charged Gregory Terence Brown with aggravated mayhem and assault with a deadly weapon. Brown was initially declared incompetent and, after his competency was restored, he moved the court for an order for pretrial mental health diversion pursuant to Penal Code section 1001.36.1 The trial court denied the request, and the case proceeded to trial. Brown was convicted in November 2022 and sentenced on January 11, 2023, ten days after the effective dates of certain amendments to section 1001.36. Brown argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for mental health diversion and asserts, in the alternative, that the recent amendments to section 1001.36 are retroactive and that therefore the matter must be remanded to the trial court to allow reconsideration of his request for diversion under the amended statute. The People assert that Brown waived his retroactivity argument by failing to bring a motion for reconsideration in the trial court prior to sentencing. Brown disputes that he forfeited the issue, and argues, in the alternative, that any forfeiture resulted from ineffective assistance of counsel. We conclude the trial court did not err in…